Keep the Stigma Against Suicide, by Ashley Frawley

By Ashley Frawley, First Things, Dec. 6, 2024

Ashley Frawley is a sociologist and senior editor of Compact.

Last week, the U.K. came a step closer to legalizing assisted suicide. Except that proponents were careful never to use the word “suicide,” despite the bill’s very clear amendment of the 1961 Suicide Act. In the debate that preceded the vote, advocates preferred euphemisms such as “the right to die” and “dignified death.” A government that couldn’t wait to lock down longer and harder just a few years ago suddenly extolled the sacred principles of “autonomy” and “choice.”

Hidden behind the euphemisms is a desire to sanitize and destigmatize the profound act of taking one’s life. Linguistic sleights of hand hide what is really going on: In legalizing what was once called “euthanasia,” we are not expanding freedom but normalizing the suicide of the vulnerable as a good and laudable choice. The idea that it can ever be “good” for a human being to commit suicide brings us to the final stage in society’s devaluation of human life. …

Continue reading <>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>