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S i d e b a r
Common Myths
By Fr. Frank Pavone
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It is a myth that most terminally ill people seek suicide.
"According to available data, only a small percentage of terminally ill or severely ill patients attempt or commit suicide" (9).
It is a myth that single events cause people to end their lives.
"Contrary to popular opinion, suicide is not usually a reaction to an acute problem or crisis in one’s life or even to a terminal illness. . . . Instead, certain personal characteristics are associated with a higher risk of . . . suicide" (11).
It is a myth that requests for suicide represent a person’s true desires.
"Like other suicidal individuals, patients who desire suicide or an early death during a terminal illness are usually suffering from a treatable mental illness, most commonly depression" (13).
It is a myth that terminal illness has to involve unmanageable pain.
"Taken together, modern pain relief techniques can alleviate pain in all but extremely rare cases" (40).
Quotes from When Death Is Sought: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the Medical Context, a May 1994 study by the New York State Task Force on Life and Law.
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