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Would This Be Rational Suicide?

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Rational Suicide in the Elderly

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Abstract

Formal psychiatric diagnostic criteria do not recognize the entity of rational suicide. However, there have been discussions of it in the health-care field, particularly about providing assistance or aid in dying for terminally ill patients. Several sets of criteria have been developed. Most require the decision to kill oneself be voluntary, well considered, and stemming from a terminal or irreversibly debilitated condition for it to be considered rational. In this chapter, we apply a set of criteria for rational suicide to an actual patient and examine them from multiple perspectives. Although the criteria are clearly stated and easily understood, the patient is not so easily comprehended. Applying these criteria to humans with their ambivalence, internal conflicts, and multiple changing motivations and moods may raise more questions than are answered.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, 1 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Robert E. McCue M.D.

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  1. Robert E. McCue M.D.
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Correspondence to Robert E. McCue M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    Robert E. McCue

  2. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    Meera Balasubramaniam

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McCue, R.E. (2017). Would This Be Rational Suicide?. In: McCue, R., Balasubramaniam, M. (eds) Rational Suicide in the Elderly. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32672-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32672-6_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32670-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32672-6

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