Cina S J, Raso D S, Conradi S E
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.
J Forensic Sci. 1994 Nov;39(6):1568-70.
Final Exit is an "informational aid" advocating the practice of active euthanasia and describing the proper method for the foolproof commission of suicide. Although it has been directed toward assisting the terminally ill patient who desires to terminate suffering, it has been suggested that the widespread availability of this book may result in its abuse. Specifically, there is growing concern that "do-it-yourself suicide manuals" could bring about the fruition of suicidal ideations that are relatively common among mentally ill patients and impressionable adolescents. Described is the suicidal ingestion of cyanide by a physically healthy 30-year-old man. His diary, found next to the body, contains a recipe for suicide copied verbatim from Derek Humphry's Final Exit. Although the decedent's history, the scene investigation, and the external examination strongly suggest an underlying psychiatric disorder, postmortem examination disclosed minimal underlying physical disease. This case graphically illustrates the abuse potential of this literary genre. To our knowledge, this is the first case of its kind to appear in the literature. We recommend that forensic pathologists and medical investigators familiarize themselves with the methods of suicide described in Final Exit.
《最后的出口》是一本“信息辅助手册”，宣扬主动安乐死的做法，并描述了确保自杀成功的恰当方法。尽管它旨在帮助那些渴望结束痛苦的绝症患者，但有人指出，这本书的广泛传播可能会导致其被滥用。具体而言，人们越来越担心“自助自杀手册”可能会使在精神病患者和易受影响的青少年中相对常见的自杀念头付诸行动。本文描述了一名身体健康的30岁男子通过摄入氰化物自杀的案例。在尸体旁发现的他的日记中，逐字抄录了德里克·汉弗莱所著《最后的出口》中的自杀方法。尽管死者的病史、现场勘查和外部检查强烈提示存在潜在的精神疾病，但尸检显示潜在的身体疾病极少。该案例生动地说明了这类文学作品存在被滥用的可能性。据我们所知，这是文献中首次出现此类案例。我们建议法医病理学家和医学调查人员熟悉《最后的出口》中描述的自杀方法。
