Also known as: self killing · self-kill · suicide · self-murder
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
Conduct by which a person intentionally causes their own death.
An emergency privilege permits reasonable force to prevent imminent self-killing when circumstances indicate risk of harm, even without consent.
Conduct by which a person intentionally causes their own death.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An emergency privilege permits reasonable force to prevent imminent self-killing when circumstances indicate risk of harm, even without consent.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Criminal liability may attach to one who purposely causes or aids such conduct through force, duress, or deception.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Criminal liability may attach to one who purposely causes or aids such conduct through force, duress, or deception.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Stephen Shaw was convicted of capital murder after shooting a victim during a robbery. At sentencing he argued that his history of severe depression made the death penalty cruel and unusual. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence, finding no constitutional bar tied to the defendant's mental condition.
Stella Shapiro was convicted of raping a child and received a death sentence under state law. She argued on appeal that executing her would violate the Eighth Amendment because the crime did not involve homicide. The Supreme Court agreed and vacated the sentence, holding that the death penalty is disproportionate for child rape.
Simon Stern confessed to murder after police told him his statements could prevent further harm. He later claimed the confession was involuntary because he had been contemplating self-killing due to guilt. The Supreme Court held that the confession remained voluntary because police coercion, not internal thoughts, is the key inquiry for due process.
Sarah Sullivan, terminally ill, sought a physician's prescription to end her life. State law prohibited the assistance. She challenged the ban as violating substantive due process. The Supreme Court upheld the prohibition, ruling that there is no fundamental right to assisted self-killing and that the state has legitimate interests in preserving life.
Stella Shapiro challenged a federal statute that funded childbirth but not abortions for indigent women. She argued the distinction was irrational because both involve ending potential life. The Supreme Court upheld the funding scheme, finding a rational distinction between withholding funds for abortion and other medical choices.
No. States may prohibit physician-assisted suicide because they have legitimate interests in preserving life, protecting vulnerable persons, and maintaining the integrity of the medical profession. Such bans satisfy rational basis review.
Supporting sources
Sylvia Santos entered a government building visibly distraught and muttering about ending her life while reaching into her coat. Serena Soto, the desk clerk, immediately restrained her without first attempting verbal intervention. The restraint prevented what appeared to be an imminent self-killing, and Sylvia later sued for battery. The court held the intervention privileged because the circumstances reasonably indicated an emergency risk of self-harm.
Yes. The privilege applies when circumstances reasonably indicate an imminent risk of self-harm, as shown by illustrations involving a delirious person threatening suicide or an unconscious patient needing immediate care. Affirmative proof of the emergency circumstances is required, but actual consent is unnecessary.
Supporting sources
A person may be convicted of criminal homicide for causing another to commit suicide only if the actor purposely causes the suicide by force, duress, or deception. Purposeful aiding or soliciting that results in suicide or an attempted suicide is a felony of the second degree.
Supporting sources
…Oath was not uncontested even in Hippocrates' day; only the Pythagorean school of philosophers frowned upon the related act of suicide. Most Greek thinkers, on the other hand, commended abortion, at least prior to viability. See Plato, Republic, V, 461; Aristotle, Politics, VII, 1335b 25. For the Pythagoreans, however, it…