Suicide attempt Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Criminalization of attempted suicide == {{update|date=January 2014}} {{anchor|Punishment for failed suicide attempts}} {{main|Suicide legislation}} Historically in the Christian church, people who attempted suicide were [[excommunication|excommunicated]] because of the religiously polarizing nature of the topic.<ref name=McL2007/> While previously criminally punishable, attempted suicide no longer is in most Western countries. It remains a criminal offense in most Islamic countries.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Aggarwal|first=N|title=Rethinking suicide bombing.|journal=Crisis|year=2009|volume=30|issue=2|pages=94β7|pmid=19525169|doi=10.1027/0227-5910.30.2.94}}</ref> In the late 19th century in Great Britain, attempted suicide was deemed to be equivalent to [[attempted murder]] and could be punished by hanging.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2011-08-03|title=When suicide was illegal|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14374296|access-date=2021-12-08}}</ref> In the United States, suicide is not illegal and almost no country in Europe currently considers attempted suicide to be a crime.<ref name=McL2007>{{cite book|last=McLaughlin|first=Columba|title=Suicide-related behaviour understanding, caring and therapeutic responses|year=2007|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|location=Chichester, England|isbn=978-0-470-51241-8|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2FJRbekdC8C&pg=PA24}}</ref> In India, attempted suicide was decriminalized by the [[Mental Healthcare Act, 2017]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Government-decriminalizes-attempt-to-commit-suicide-removes-section-309/articleshow/45452253.cms |title=Government decriminalizes attempt to commit suicide, removes section 309 |last=Jain |first=Bharti |date=11 December 2014 |work=[[The Times of India]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108182624/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Government-decriminalizes-attempt-to-commit-suicide-removes-section-309/articleshow/45452253.cms |archive-date=8 January 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/govt-decides-to-repeal-section-309-from-ipc-attempt-to-suicide-no-longer-a-crime_1512479.html | title=Govt decides to repeal Section 309 from IPC; attempt to suicide no longer a crime| date=2014-12-10}}</ref> while Singapore removed attempted suicide from their criminal code in 2020;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ng |first1=Charmaine |title=Watch that cigarette butt and BBQ embers - firestarters to feel more heat from the law from Jan 1 |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/watch-that-cigarette-butt-and-bbq-embers-firestarters-to-feel-more-heat-from |website=The Straits Times |access-date=31 December 2019 |date=27 December 2019}}</ref> previously it had been punishable by up to one-year in prison.<ref>Singapore Penal Code(Cap 224, Rev Ed 2008), s 309</ref> [[Suicide legislation#Laws in individual jurisdictions (table)|Many other countries]] still prosecute suicide attempts.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/j.ijlp.2015.08.032 |pmid = 26375452| title=The legal status of suicide: a global review| journal=International Journal of Law and Psychiatry| volume=44| pages=54β74| year=2016| last1=Mishara| first1=BL| last2=Weisstub| first2=DN| s2cid=205283662 }}</ref> As of 2012, attempted suicide is a criminal offense in [[Uganda]],<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1258/msl.2012.011107|pmid = 22528562| title=Mental health workers' views on the criminalization of suicidal behaviour in Uganda| journal=Medicine, Science and the Law| volume=52| issue=3| pages=148β151| year=2012| last1=Hjelmeland| first1=Heidi| last2=Kinyanda| first2=Eugene| last3=Knizek| first3=Birthe Loa|s2cid = 7820312}}</ref> and as of 2013, it is criminalized in [[Ghana]].<ref>{{Cite journal | pmid = 24197485| year = 2014| last1 = Hjelmeland| first1 = H| title = The law criminalizing attempted suicide in Ghana: The views of clinical psychologists, emergency ward nurses, and police officers| journal = Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention| volume = 35| issue = 2| pages = 132β36| last2 = Osafo| first2 = J| last3 = Akotia| first3 = C. S.| last4 = Knizek | first4 = B. L.| doi = 10.1027/0227-5910/a000235}}</ref> Despite having its own laws, [[Maryland]] still reserves the right to prosecute people under the English [[Common law]]s that were in place when America declared independence in 1776. These laws were used to convict a man for attempted suicide in 2018, resulting in a three-year suspended sentence and two years of supervised probation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.myeasternshoremd.com/stardem/news/local_news/rare-attempted-suicide-charge-goes-through-caroline-court/article_3e8f7813-a2c6-555c-a8cd-7876e09013e3.html |title=Rare attempted suicide charge goes through Caroline court |last=Andrews |first=Abby |date=March 1, 2018 |work=[[Kent County News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202153144/https://www.myeasternshoremd.com/stardem/news/local_news/rare-attempted-suicide-charge-goes-through-caroline-court/article_3e8f7813-a2c6-555c-a8cd-7876e09013e3.html |archive-date=December 2, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stardem.com/opinion/columns/attempted-suicide-likely-not-a-crime/article_5cc4e7d0-ffbf-5cce-8eb4-bb7a503141ab.html |title=Attempted suicide likely not a crime |last=Dufour |first=Christine B. |date=March 7, 2018 |work=[[The Star Democrat]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824154458/https://www.stardem.com/opinion/columns/attempted-suicide-likely-not-a-crime/article_5cc4e7d0-ffbf-5cce-8eb4-bb7a503141ab.html |archive-date=August 24, 2021 |url-status=bot: unknown |access-date=August 24, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-suicide-criminal-charge-20180222-story.html |title=Attempting suicide is not a crime under Maryland law. But an Eastern Shore man was convicted of it |last=Fenton |first=Justine |date=February 23, 2018 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200430/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-suicide-criminal-charge-20180222-story.html |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page