Battin M P
Department of Philosophy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112.
Crisis. 1991 Sep;12(2):73-80.
For some persons who are facing terminal illness, severe permanent disability, or extreme old age, suicide may seem to be a rational choice. Suicide prevention services, however, do not provide for suicide as a sane, honorable choice in such circumstances. This paper identifies 17 specific considerations a mental-health professional may use to help such a person explore whether suicide would be rational or irrational. These considerations are formulated without antecedent bias towards prevention and without interpreting interest in suicide as evidence of depression or mental illness. Dying, severely disabled, and aged persons considering suicide on what seem to them to be rational grounds may thus trust and consult mental-health professionals about their plans.
对于一些面临绝症、严重永久性残疾或高龄的人来说，自杀可能看似是一个理性的选择。然而，自杀预防服务并不认为在这种情况下自杀是一种理智、体面的选择。本文确定了心理健康专业人员可用来帮助此类人士探究自杀是否合理的17个具体考量因素。这些考量因素的制定没有预先偏向预防，也没有将对自杀的兴趣解读为抑郁或精神疾病的证据。因此，那些基于看似合理的理由考虑自杀的濒死、重度残疾和老年人可以信任心理健康专业人员并就其计划向他们咨询。
