Why is suicide still taboo

Question

With subjects like abortion and homosexuality moving into the mainstream, why is suicide still taboo. If someone even suggests that suicide is a viable option for someone undergoing difficult circumstances they are chastised for callousness and insensitivity, But I personally believe that suicide is a legitimate choice, no less worthy of consideration than counseling or drugs. Suicide is a viable option, not an unforgivable sin. People should be presented with all their options, not just those with which others morals approve.

Answer 1

Suicide is not a viable option except for those with a terminal disease and pain that makes any remaining life unacceptable IMO.  Difficult circumstances are not included as reasonable reasons for suicide unless it fits the first sentence.  Suicide is most often used as an easy way out or a way to cause pain for others.  In either case, it is not a legitimate or useful choice.

Answer 2

Suicide actually solves nothing.It produces no positive outcome for the one contemplating it and causes untold grief and suffering for those left behind.Why would anyone seriously consider or suggest suicide as an option?Suicide  is all too frequently resorted to by desperately unhappy people,not by people who have been offered this as an option! there are so many stories of people who have recovered from a suicide attempt and been grateful they didn't succeed.

Answer 3

I have live in Both US and Taiwan, so I will explain this form both stand points.

In Taiwanese or Chinese traditional families, children (especially males) are responsible of taking care of aging parents (it's slowly changing, but the tradition still remains influential). Parents spent the whole life to work only to see they end their own life (without any care for anyone who loves them), which is somewhat irresponsible. Also, death has always been a taboo to a conservative Chinese/Taiwanese family.

In America, christians sees suicide as a sin that gives someone an express ticket to the deepest h**l. Not only one could not enjoy the glory of heaven, but one would suffer for the eternity. Besides christians, many still treat death itself as taboo (let alone suicide). Suicide will always be a tragedy to the ones that are alive. A lot of times, people don't like to talk about tragedies and treat it as taboos as well.

These are just my observations, not opinions.

Answer 4

Its a question I pondered many times for the last 2 decades and the only conclusion I had reach ; its because when you talk about death ; people are scared ; because one day they will die ; and they do not want to think about it ; and suicide is death ; so they cannot deal with this fact of life  

Answer 5

Homosexuality is not like abortion or suicide, suicide is not taboo but it's not abortion either. what is there in suicide that we can change, the people that commit suicide have the choice, they can get help. Abortion is about the right to life of someone that cant speak.  How can we help suicidal people, the taboo is in everyone they choice what they believe.

Answer 6

well no matter how much of an illegitimate choice it is, people do take it as a choice and a personal thing so they're obviously disregarding completely that it's a "sin."

personally, i don't agree with suicide not because it's a dubbed as a religious no-no. it's because life is something you should cherish, if a person is willing to work at his/her life with whatever it may be: drugs, counseling, simply discussing with problems with his/her loved ones, anything is possible, he/she can even turn their lives around. to me, suicide is for people who are quitters, they gave up on something they could have solved or made better with the help of themselves as well as others.