The ethics of suicide and suicide prevention

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Abstract
Is suicide ever a defensible choice, particularly, for the terminally ill? The present article debates this difficult question, examining the relevance of such issues as the morality, rationality, and dynamics of the suicidal act, and the legitimacy of physician-assisted suicide. Contrasting perspectives on these issues are articulated by two prominent suicidologists, as a spur to the reader's deeper reconsideration of the ethics of suicide and suicide prevention. Editor's Note. This article represents an invited exchange between two leading suicidologists on a topic of considerable contemporary importance: the ethics of suicide, with special reference to the terminally ill. David Lester, PhD, is currently president of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and executive director of the Center for the Study of Suicide in Blackwood, New Jersey. A prolific contributor to the research literature on suicide, Lester has recently published a book titled Suicidal Behavior in Women. Antoon A. Leenaars, PhD, is currently president of the American Association of Suicidology and a past president of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. He publishes extensively in suicidology, in addition to maintaining an active practice in clinical psychology. His most recent book (with J. T. Maltsberger & R. A. Neimeyer) is Treatment of Suicidal People.