{"product_id":"suicide-prohibition-the-shame-of-medicine-9780815609902","title":"Suicide Prohibition: The Shame of Medicine","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn Western thought, suicide has evolved from sin to sin-and-crime, to crime, to mental illness, and to semilegal act. A legal act is one we are free to think and speak about and plan and perform, without penalty by agents of the state. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhile dying voluntarily is ostensibly legal, suicide attempts and even suicidal thoughts are routinely punished by incarceration in a psychiatric institution. Although many people believe the prevention of suicide is one of the duties the modern state owes its citizens, Szasz argues that suicide is a basic human right and that the lengths to which the medical industry goes to prevent it represent a deprivation of that right. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on his general theory of the myth of mental illness, Szasz makes a compelling case that the voluntary termination of one's own life is the result of a decision, not a disease. He presents an in-depth examination and critique of contemporary antisuicide policies, which are based on the notion that voluntary death is a mental health problem, and systematically lays out the dehumanizing consequences of psychiatrizing suicide prevention. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIf suicide be deemed a problem, it is not a medical problem. Managing it as if it were a disease, or the result of a disease, will succeed only in debasing medicine and corrupting the law. Pretending to be the pride of medicine, psychiatry is its shame.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Syracuse University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/12\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780815609902\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 132\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.87h x 5.77w x 0.65d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eReference and Research Bk News\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2011 pg. 103\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Thomas Szasz","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36644661493916,"sku":"9780815609902","price":16.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_0ef54d5d-689b-422e-9f1f-d902afee4c3b.jpg?v=1603859154","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/suicide-prohibition-the-shame-of-medicine-9780815609902","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}