Also known as: suicides · self-killing
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The intentional taking of one's own life.
Spencer Silver, delirious in a hospital, threatens to jump from a window. A nurse locks the doors and windows to stop him. The nurse faces no battery liability because the intervention prevents apparent self-harm under emergency circumstances.
Sylvia Santos's son dies from a gunshot. The insurer refuses payment claiming suicide. The beneficiary sues in California court, testing whether the company's contacts support personal jurisdiction over the out-of-state policy.
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Seth Shapiro challenges a state abortion ban. The litigation traces medical ethics back to ancient debates that treated suicide and abortion as linked moral questions under the Hippocratic tradition.
Sophia Singh defends Amish parents against compulsory schooling. The state cites survey data showing Amish suicide rates comparable to national averages to argue against religious exemption claims.
Samuel Soto's closely held corporation objects to a federal mandate that would require coverage for procedures including assisted suicide. The owners argue the requirement substantially burdens their religious exercise.
Serena Soto seeks a physician's prescription to end her life. The state statute bans such assistance. The Court upholds the ban, finding no fundamental right and legitimate state interests in preserving life.
A person may use reasonable force to prevent another from committing suicide when the circumstances reasonably indicate imminent self-harm, even without consent. This privilege arises independently of consent and is illustrated by locking doors to stop a delirious person from jumping.
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A suicide note may qualify if the statements are genuinely self-inculpatory. Portions that merely shift blame to others are not admissible under the exception because they lack the required reliability guarantee.
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No fundamental right exists. States may prohibit the practice under rational basis review because they have legitimate interests in preserving life, protecting the vulnerable, and maintaining medical integrity.
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Purposely aiding or soliciting suicide is a second-degree felony if it causes suicide or an attempt, and otherwise a misdemeanor. Causing suicide by force, duress, or deception constitutes criminal homicide.
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…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…