Study Finds Soaring Suicide Rates Where Euthanasia Is Legal

New research suggests legal euthanasia and assisted suicide leads to an increase in other suicides too, especially in women.

Anscombe Bioethics Centre, a Catholic bioethics institute in England, compiled their report using data from Europe and North America.

Report author Professor David Jones said the evidence “all points in the same direction”:

“There is no evidence that legalization of EAS would have a beneficial effect on suicide prevention. There is robust evidence, taken from different jurisdictions and using a variety of statistical methods, that the total number of self-initiated deaths rises significantly where EAS is legally available, and strong evidence that this has a greater impact on older women.”

Jones said Belgium has the highest suicide rate in Europe since legalizing euthanasia since 2002. He also said suicide rates in the Netherlands are rising despite performing more euthanasia and assisted suicide than any other country.

Similarly in the US, states with legalized physician-assisted suicide are also recording higher numbers of unassisted suicide.

However, he explained European nations without legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide have lower self-initiated suicide rates, meaning legalization is detrimental to suicide prevention.

“There is much that can be done but there is no evidence that changing the law on assisted suicide would help. On the contrary, there is increasing evidence that removing the legal prohibition on encouraging or assisting suicide could do significant harm. These are not only notional dangers but real dangers to people vulnerable to suicide. Legalization of euthanasia or assisted suicide is a threat to suicide prevention.” 

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Pray for the protection of life!