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Suicide: A Legal Perspective

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Abstract

Suicide presents such an extreme and irreversible attack upon normal societal standards that it merits special attention in both medical and legal literature.* Some persons argue that every individual has the right to end his own life, at least when one has sufficient reason, and several organizations have been established to defend and advance that view.+ But Anglo-American law traditionally has prohibited suicide (or, at least, attempts at suicide), and many states have had specific statutes to that effect.

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References

  1. Ruben HL: Managing suicidal behavior. JAMA 241(3):282–284, January 19, 1979

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  2. Doctor and the law: On expert guidance and the suicide risk. Medical World News 15:46E, March 1, 1974

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  3. Cooper TR: Medical treatment facility liable for patient suicide and other self-injury. J Legal Med 3:20–29, January 1975

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  8. Brooks AD: Law, Psychiatry and the Mental Health System. Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1974, p. 701

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  9. Searle v. Allstate Life Insurance Company, as reported by the New York Times, September 4, 1979

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  10. Cooper TR: Medical treatment facility liability for patient suicide and other self-injury. J Legal Med 3:20–29, 1975

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  11. Dinnerstein v. United States, 486F. 2d 34 (2nd Cir., 1973)

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  12. 382 N.Y.S. 2d 128 (New York Superior Court, Appeals Division, 1976)

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© 1982 Plenum Press, New York

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Beyer, H.A. (1982). Suicide: A Legal Perspective. In: Bassuk, E.L., Schoonover, S.C., Gill, A.D. (eds) Lifelines. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4205-2_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4205-2_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4207-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4205-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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