Suicide is painless

Well that's what the theme to MASH said - but I don't really think so. The pain is for the the person who dies and for the people left behind. The person who dies is in so much pain that no one can comprehend it. The pain can be physical, emotional, psychological, or a combination of them all. That pain is combined with pressure from those around the person 'Snap out of it', 'Aren't there people to live for', 'How could you think of it - when so many people will be affected by your death'. And yet we will all die sometime - is it not reasonable to control the manner and departure of your departure?
The problem is of course that suicide is a terrible sin. Most religions condemn it, and in Britain it was illegal until recently. Even politically the cult of the suicide bomber is almost universally condemned as horrific and unacceptable as a form of action - but how is it worse than assassination or weapons of massdestruction?
For those left behind the emotions are impossible to quantify. For those discovering the body the image lives with them forever. I've heard train drivers talking about experiencing 'jumpers' (those who throw themselves under the wheels of trains). Some say that on the London Underground the driver knows that it is about to happen because the jumper will sometimes look into the eyes of the driver before stepping off the platform.
Many relatives and friends of suicides experience anger - at the selfishness of the deceased; guilt - why couldn't we prevent it? depression often follows, and closure is very difficult - if not impossible to achieve.
And yet, the demand for euthensia continues to rise, because life is sacred. Strangely enough the greatest opposition comes from those countries with high rates of executions, and the least opposition from those countries performing legal abortions, but where capital punishment has been abolished. What does this prove? There are no absolute standards of morality anywhere.