The book opens by contemplating what UK law can do in response to the World Health Organization recognising suicide prevention as a public health priority whereby all suicides are preventable. As with legal texts there is much discussion around statute and case law but is written in a conversational style for readers less versed in legal terminology. It examines the ‘underexplored’ topic of suicide in the UK, observing law on suicide as being ‘regrettably unclear and complex’.
There is exploration of the definition of suicide. This is noted as appearing seemingly unambiguous but more precise definition has heralded much debate in the literature. The book opted for simplistic definitions of ‘self-caused’ and ‘intended’ death. The challenge of getting the balance between respecting autonomy and preventing suicide is a theme throughout. The chapters detailing the evolution of law against suicide from biblical times to the modern day are fascinating. As well as the chapter concentrating on the role of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and Human Rights Act in suicide prevention, other thought-provoking chapters include the emotive topic of suicide of children and young persons and assisted dying, with all its nuances. Specific areas reviewed where suicide presents challenges to current law include prisons, schools and universities, hospices, care homes and hospitals.
In developing the theme that mental capacity should remain crucial to the determination of the law's response to suicide risk the book argues for a heightened test of capacity in the context of choices to die. In doing so it expounds a key concept of diachronic continuity, which considers whether a decision/desire to die is consistent with a person's identity and life story. Other themes permeating the book include end-of-life treatment, where declining certain treatments is an autonomous choice and not labelled as suicide; that rational capacitous suicides, albeit rare, are possible (hence the assumption that all suicides are symptoms of mental illness is ‘unsustainable’); and the ‘controversial’ proposition that laws should explicitly permit the provision of assistance to die in certain capacitous cases. Furthermore, the book argues that the label of suicide is best avoided because of hidden pejorative meanings and judgement, suggesting it is better to ‘simply talk’ about voluntary deaths or choices to die, then leading to whether such a choice is a capacitated one or not.
The book achieves its aim of arguing for a more refined legal approach that responds to the ‘wide ambit of the suicide label’, with mental capacity being crucial to the law's response to suicide. It also argues that although statutory reform is needed, so too is a more refined awareness of current law and its objectives by those implementing it. This is a very readable and thought-provoking book and complements similar texts in this complex area.
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