Why Is Suicide Wrong

Hello Class,
In our country, it seems that the act of suicide is a very subjectively moral taboo. I would say that based on most people’s upbringing (including my own) it has been engrained that ethically suicide is wrong. However, like many other ethical issues, they are typically morally relative. Based upon the examples used in the discussion prompt alone there are numerous examples of cultures and groups of people that believe that suicide is objectively moral. To be fair, I myself feel there are situations where suicide is warranted. For instance, I think physician-assisted suicide should be allowed and not punishable anywhere. As a matter of fact, according to Kevin Drum, as early as 1994 there were states jumping on board and allowing

Oregon actually became the first state in the U.S. to allow physician-assisted suicide in 1994. (2016) I personally feel myself leaning toward the moral relativist side of the spectrum on this matter, because I believe that no person has the overwhelming right to tell another that suicide is wrong no matter the circumstance. I think the time I would have to say I am morally against suicide is when it is a person taking their life because they are depressed or going through hard times. I do not believe that this is right because there is nothing physically making suicide a viable option. “Socrates, therefore, presents a challenge to all of us. Can we defend our own beliefs? What justifies the things we believe?”(Mosser, 2014). As did our instructor when he asked, “On what basis have we the right, then, to say that suicide is wrong?” I believe this could only truly be defended internally, no person truthfully can say you can’t kill yourself. One can just say that morally; through their upbringing, culture and religion, it is