This is a very complex issue. I always believed that people should be free to choose what to do with their own lives, up to and including ending them.
But in practice, it tends to hurt a lot of people. I have personally contemplated suicide, and managed to recover from my depression with the help of medication... If suicide was more accepted, would I still be alive right now? I honestly do not know.
I also had a friend who killed himself, and I remember how that sent shockwaves around all those who knew him.
I do think that it is a personal decision, but not one to be taken lightly.
I agree on the complexity of this issue, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about related questions. Even though I know that it not possible nor expedient, I do feel that regret and sadness over the suicide of a beloved one is not an appropriate reaction. If somebody comes to the conclusion of ending one's life (and not in an affective, unconscious way), this is a choice of free will everybody has to accept. However, as the person knows, what sadness and regret he is about to bring upon his close ones, this might interfere with his free decision, ultimately preventing him from suicide. However, these people now intervene in a choice witch is not theirs to choose. For sure, I do see that it's not always as black and white as that. In a lot of cases, said suicidal person might be the main breadwinner of a family, financially ruining all the other members and so on ...
I only feel, that the own will of persons with suicidal thoughts gets neglected a lot.
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