September 10 is designated as the World Suicide Prevention Day. We read recently in our newspapers the disturbing and alarming news of a student in a leading girls’ school in Colombo attempting suicide while at school. It is not surprising, therefore, that the interschool speech contest in Sri Lanka this year has chosen as its topic, "Suicide Prevention is Everybody’s Responsibility", hoping to raise awareness of the problem of suicide among students, with teachers, parents and elders of the communities.

Suicide seems to be on the increase in almost all the countries globally, including the demand for legalizing assisted suicide or physician assisted suicide (PAS). Some countries, already have legalized PAS, such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the state of Oregon in USA. In Britain, however, the Suicide Act 1961 crimnalizes someone who commits suicide.

With the increase in incidence of non-communicable diseases leading to gross disabilities, the demand for assisted dying appears to be increasing. Also, the growing numbers of elderly people with increasing levels of elder abuse, economic recession with imminent cuts in health costs, are some other contributory factors.

In the House of Lords in Britain, once again, a Bill was proposed and debated to change the present law on suicide. The previous Lord Joffe’s private member’s Bill to amend the existing law, was defeated in 2006 (Reference "The Island" 18th July 2006).

The proposed Bill in 2009 by Lord Falconer, called for those who accompany people abroad for assisted suicide, to be immune from prosecution. After a highly emotive debate it was defeated in the House of Lords in July this year. Although, it was possible to support the Falconer amendment while opposing the legalizing of assisted suicide in UK, yet, the majority of Peers saw it as a staging post in the slippery slope and were worried about the potential for families to hasten off a lingering relative.

In fact, the next day following the defeat of this bill at the House of Lords, the newspapers reported a case where it was alleged a woman had tried to murder her husband who has motor neurone disease, after learning insurers would pay a six figure sum if he died. It was a chilling reminder that not all family members necessarily have the best interests of their "loved ones’ at heart and why the law must stay as it is.