Of course poor decisions exist. If you ever regretted a decision you made, then it was a poor decision. You made a decision in the situation back then, without having all the information available and it later turned out to be a decision you had rather not made or made differently. I'd say suicides are often very poor decisions brought about by a temporary slump, mental illness or strong emotions that the person could regret later.
That just means you regretted a decision not that it was an objectively poor decision which is what I was getting at.
Regardless, if someone wanted to commit suicide and they didn't see it as a poor decision, whats the issue?
You are stating right here that suicide is a choice and that nobody should take away that choice, so that implies it is an individual right in your eyes. Semantics aside, I do indeed think that people should not have the freedom to make spur of the moment decisions with indefinite results like, you know, death, because at certain points people really suck at making decisions.
Choices don't mean that its a right. I don't believe in rights. So its not semantics.
Regardless I do know that many people do believe in rights and that people want to be free to make their own choices. So if you do, why stop it at suicide even if it is something that results in death? Why can't someone be trusted with their own life? Because they might take it? That seems a bit of a control freak.
It is why you don't let kids decide if they want a tattoo and why someone who's completely emotionally exhausted shouldn't decide whether he should kill himself. They are not able to make a decision that they surely won't regret.
Sure talk to them and see why they're ready to kill themselves if you want.
You might not realize this, but the fact that you have to get a gun (which is pretty hard here), slit your wrists, find drugs to OD on or jump in front of a train are barriers to committing suicide. It could be made much easier if the government would assist, practically, but it would also be made more respectable culturally. I don't think they should, but what do you think?
Not what I mean by barriers to suicide. Anyone can come to the conclusion that suicide is a good way to go and then come up with a way to do it. This is what I mean. That's not a barrier. Sure there's things they would need in order to accomplish their plan such as a gun or a rope or pills, etc but that's not really a barrier to someone that is ready to commit suicide.
Why? As an American, born with more priviliges than 90% of the Earth's population, how can you not figure out a way to live that is preferable over nothing? I'd live a 1000 years if I had the choice, no doubt.
Implying life is better than death. Both are equal in terms of how much they matter. To say otherwise is to take into account premises that are completely assumed to be true without basis.
If one has preferences towards life over death, then ofc you'll live a bit longer or want to. If you don't, you'll prefer death in whatever way you prefer to meet it.