Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people in the United States and the second leading cause of death among college students. Kay Redfield Jamison's new book Night Falls Fast Understanding Suicide follows her earlier, best seller An Unquiet Mind . It was the first new authoritative book on the subject in 25 years. Attitudes have changed over time. There are no early cultural or religious sanctions attached to suicide in the Old Testament.
Jewish custom forbids funeral orations for suicide victims.
In Islam, it is as grave a crime as homicide. Most European countries have formally decriminalized suicide in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Ireland did not do so until 1993. Manic-depression is the same in men and women. Look at the figures for suicide.