"What if the seemingly rational choices you prefer when you're healthy no longer make sense…
Will this Death be an “Irrational Suicide” or a “Voluntary Death”?
by James Leonard Park
Criteria for differentiating rational from irrational self-delivered death.
Mr. Parks makes an excellent point in arguing that the term “voluntary death” should replace “suicide” in those cases where it applies. I disagree, though, with calling it “cause of death”. The underlying condition killed the person, not the fact that they chose to step off the elevator a floor or so from the bottom.
If you’re ever speaking with someone who intends to kill themselves, I’ve found a quick test to distinguish suicide from voluntary death. Does the person who’s planning to kill themselves intend to take an emetic and a laxative the day before? A person planning suicide will be indifferent or hostile to those who find the corpse. A person planning voluntary death will be considerate of what those who find the body are going to go through.