Undoing Suicidism: A Trans, Queer, Crip Approach to Rethinking (Assisted) Suicide

Baril, an associate professor of social work at the University of Ottawa, debuts with a provocative critique of “suicidism,” a form of “structural oppression” that stigmatizes people who want to die. Noting that those who express such a wish can be involuntarily hospitalized, refused jobs, or lose custody of children, Baril argues that the desire to die is valid and that assisted suicide should be available in some form to all “suicidal people, regardless of their dis/abilities, health or age.” Drawing on the work of psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, who called dying voluntarily “the ultimate freedom,” and Michel Foucault, who suggested that the state imposes values on its members to “maximize the life of the population as a group,” Baril proposes a “suicide-affirmative” approach in which the government would offer assisted suicide “as one among several potential options, carefully guiding... those who are contemplating this possibility.” This, he adds, would foster “honest discussions about living with a desire to die,” which might “save more lives (even though this is not my primary goal).” Readers may agree with some of the author’s carefully argued points about the structural obstacles suicidal people face, and yet struggle to accept both his contention that “there are no good or bad reasons for wanting to die” and his jarring critiques of “compulsory aliveness.” This is sure to spark debate. (June)