by Burke J. Balch and Randall K. O'Bannon

About the authors: Burke J. Balch is the director of the Department of Medical Ethics for the National Right to Life Committee. Randall K. O'Bannon is the director of the Department of Education for the National Right to Life Committee.

Under the banners of compassion and autonomy, some are calling for legal recognition of a "right to suicide" and societal acceptance of "physicianassisted suicide." Suicide proponents evoke the image of someone facing unendurable suffering who calmly and rationally decides death is better than life in such a state. They argue that society should respect and defer to the freedom of choice such people exercise in asking to be killed. But what would be the consequences of accepting this perspective? Let us examine the facts.

Almost All Suicides Are Mentally Ill