Commonwealth Policy Center

The Washington Post is being criticized for running a story that normalizes suicide. The story features a man who helped his 99-year-old father starve and dehydrate himself to death because he would rather die than go into an assisted living facility. The man was placed in hospice care, where medical professionals made the pain of dehydration and starvation more bearable. He had no underlying medical illness. He just wanted to die, and one of his sons helped him kill himself. Suicide is on the rise in America. There are hotlines and help centers available to walk with people in difficult times. And at a time when too many Americans grieve the loss of a loved one due to suicide, the Washington Post’s story unfortunately normalized it.