International journal of law and psychiatry
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In many countries, suicide is the most frequent cause of prison deaths; moreover, the respective national penal suicide rates are consistently several times higher than the suicide rates in the general population. To assess the situation in German prisons, an assessment of all suicides in German prisons by means of a survey was carried out for the time from 2000 to 2011. ⋯ A significant positive relationship can be demonstrated between occupation density and the suicide rate for both men and women. These results should be taken as a challenge for further research on the reasons for the unexpected increase of suicide rate in female sentenced prisoners and as well on the effect of population density on prison suicide rate.
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Int J Law Psychiatry · Sep 2013
Aboriginal youth suicide in Quebec: the contribution of public policy for prevention.
The high rate of youth suicide in some First Nations villages of Northern Quebec is an important public health problem. Based on a six-year field study in three villages belonging to the Atikamekw and Anishinabe groups, this paper proposes changes in three areas of social policy that could contribute to prevention of youth suicide. These three areas are: youth protection, administration of justice, and housing. ⋯ Regarding the administration of justice, we suggest initiatives to encourage rapid prosecution of crimes on reserves and the adoption of an approach based on reconciliation between perpetrator and victim. Finally, we indicate how housing measures could help safeguard children's wellbeing given that overcrowding can contribute to suicide. The discussion also proposes that these three key changes in social policy could be relevant in other Aboriginal communities both within and outside of Quebec.
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A substantial majority of Canadians favours a change to the Criminal Code which would make it legally permissible, subject to careful regulation, for patients suffering from incurable physical illness to opt for either physician assisted suicide (PAS) or voluntary active euthanasia (VAE). This discussion will focus primarily on the arguments for and against decriminalizing physician assisted suicide, with special reference to the British Columbia case of Lee Carter vs. Attorney General of Canada. ⋯ Empirical evidence available from jurisdictions which have followed the regulatory route is presented and its relevance to the slippery slope argument is considered. The arguments presented by both sides are critically assessed. The conclusion suggested is that evidence of harms to vulnerable individuals or to society, consequent upon legalization, is insufficient to support continued denial of freedom to those competent adults who seek physician assistance in hastening their death.
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Part of the reason for the ongoing confusion regarding the status of assisted suicide is the cluttered moral and legal matrix that is normally invoked to evaluate the practice. It results in a calculus that is impossible to coherently unravel, allowing commentators to tenably assert any position. The authors attempt to inject clarity into the debate by focusing on the issue through the lens of the most important interest at stake: the right to life. ⋯ The adverse indirect consequences of the often ostensibly compassionate act of assisted suicide outweigh any supposed benefits from the practice. It follows that assisted suicide should lead to criminal sanctions. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that, paradoxically, the right to life arguments against assisted suicide mandate greater community measures to eliminate or reduce the causes of suicide.
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Int J Law Psychiatry · Sep 2013
Quebec proposition of Medical Aid in Dying: a palliative care perspective.
The government of Quebec (Canada) is poised to adopt a proposition to legalize euthanasia in the form of "Medical Aid in Dying," which presents a new option for end-of-life care. This proposition arouses concerns among palliative care providers. The aim of this article is to provide a palliative care perspective on Quebec's proposition to legalize euthanasia. Based on the epistemological and methodological framework of critical theory, the following three questions are raised: First, in Quebec's current state of the law, is it possible to relieve the suffering of end-of-life patients? Second, can the Quebec proposition to legalize euthanasia in specific circumstances be harmful? Third, is the Quebec proposition on euthanasia compatible with palliative care and social values? In conclusion, recommendations and alternatives to the current Quebec proposition are suggested.