Should I allow myself to commit suicide?

Pro: The time of our death is not naturally under our control. Yet the actualization of the human spirit involves gaining as much control over our destiny as possible. By choosing the time and manner of my death, I am gaining a measure of dignity in a realm over which I ordinarily exercise little influence.

Pro: My demands on society are greater than my contributions to it. My illness and disability are sources of grief to those who care for me: I am a drain on the psychological resources of friends and relatives. I am also a drain on the financial resources of my family and the larger community as well. Committing suicide will relieve the burden I have placed on those who are supporting me.

Con: If I kill myself, I will cause pain for my friends and family. By committing suicide, I am depriving others of a cherished and needed friend. I am depriving society of a valued member. I might be causing pain in others for a long time.

Pro: Ending a life does not destroy all the achievements of a lifetime, and ending one's own life does not repudiate everything that life had stood for.

Pro: Suicide is a way of ending a particular sort of life—a life that consists of great indignity and excruciating, intractable physical and psychological pain. Suicide affords a dignified way of ending all my suffering.

Con: Those who are named as beneficiaries on my life insurance policies will not be able to collect benefits if I commit suicide.

Con: Committing suicide eliminates the possibility of improvement in my life. I will have no second chance to shape a life to my liking.

Con: The expectations of irremediable pain or of a protracted, debilitating, dehumanizing illness may not be realized, either because I may recover on my own, despite good medical opinion, or because researchers may find a cure for my ailment.

Con: There is no need to fear that dying always involves agony. Medical and surgical treatments can keep the most serious pain at bay. Doctors can make the end of life relatively comfortable.