Madam, - The prevention of suicide should be treated in the same way as the prevention of death due to other diseases. The consistent paucity of healthcare spending in this area, especially for those most at risk (adolescents and young people), suggests a widespread belief that the choice to commit suicide, and not the factors which lead to making that choice, is the disease.
Once the decision is made to end one's life, there is little anyone can do to reverse it. This we know from experience and clinical testimony. We must stop attacking the choice and condemning it as immoral, mistaken, selfish, or deluded, and begin to attack the complex pathology of which it is only the end result. - Yours, etc,
AIDAN TYNAN, Silversprings Lawn, Tivoli, Cork.