One of the more paradoxical claims by assisted-suicide promoters is that legalization will reduce “premature” deaths because seriously ill people who might otherwise end it all sooner will instead wait because release is available readily when they need it.

I am not saying that never happens, but I have long believed that legalizing assisted suicide would be far more likely to increase suicide rates overall. Once using assisted suicide as a means of overcoming suffering caused by serious illness becomes the societal paradigm, people who are suffering intensely from other causes are unlikely think, “Oh, suicide is OK for people with cancer, but not me.” That’s not how our minds work.

And indeed, the West is experiencing a suicide crisis. Oregon public health officials have bemoaned the rise in youth and other suicides. And while assisted suicide is certainly not the sole cause of the spike, I have been screaming into the wind for people to connect some damn dots!