Perhaps it is just me, but I get the impression from reading this that whoever wrote this article thinks he is guilty of something.

It was her who took the pills and who told the bloke not to call an ambulance.

I also found some of the comments a bit annoying. They seemed to be pretty much blaming the man for her death:


Lame.

Technically I don't know whether he broke any laws, but I do not agree with his actions at all. Depression is not a permanent condition and it is treatable. It may have been a rational decision to die, but we don't know that because a severe depression can be like a delusional state. I don't think it is safe to assume that a person under the influence of valium and codeine is in a competent state of mind either. The words of a suicidal person are not necessarily the truth, the suicidal person is not necessarily acting rationally, and she may have called him because she wanted him to stop her. A suicidal person does not want to die so much as they want the pain to stop.

I've endured two spouts of... strong... depression where suicidal thoughts were common daily ... events. I'm not saying this to get big ol' sympthy votes and what-not, but rather to express my opinions and perceptions to this article.
In the first event that I refer to, I had conscious thoughts of how to do 'it'. I made plans, I figured it all out, I knew where to go to get it done quietly etc. I got as far as going to my place. And there I stopped myself. I thought about my kids and - well - I can't explain this in words, other than saying once I'd began thinking of them, I had a new-found strength that I had never felt before. I felt re-energized and able to somehow cope with the events that led me to where I was. I have no means to explain this, but it was almost a religious experience. That's the nearest analogy I can muster. I sought help after this and took whatever measures I needed to help me stay on-track.
The second instance was different, very, very different. Again, this is difficult to word, for me anyway. Instead of having conscious thoughts of how to/when to/ etc. it felt very out of my control. There were images in my minds' eye that I could not shake, images of myself - no longer 'here'. These images were pouring into my head. I can't explain where they came from, because I was not consciously drawing up these images. It was as if someone else had a direct connection to my minds' eye and funnelled very grusome imagery into it. That scared the hell out of me. Scared me to the point I cried, perhaps like a baby, but i cried. I was scared that I may follow the images, that I may actually try to reproduce them in reality. The fact that they wouldn't go away made me feel at a loss of any self-control. Had I not the common-sense to seek help from those I knew I could trust, I don't know what may have followed.
I think depression hits different people, in different ways, according to what they're down about. I can say the only depressions I've been through have all been related to my children and the abuses of different people who have been - one or another way - involved with them.
In my case, I sought help. But, I honestly think had those images continued for longer than they did - I perhaps wouldn't be around now to post this entry.
Depression can be an overwhelming experience, especially if you have somehow lost control of it. I'm just glad I had support of some good friends and family members who were able to hold me upstraight when I was at my weakest, even if only via a phone. Not everyone has that. We don't know the support mechanism - if any - she had was any good. She could have been overwhelmed and beyond return.

Her Body, Her Choice.

Theres no law, that im aware of, that forces a man to save a dying ass woman. And even if theres such a law, its a moronic law. She was 56 and wanted to die, theres people who live depressed (and suffers) all of their life and dont have the courage to kill themselves. She was going to die anyway, just like each and everyone of us will sooner or later die. I really dont get why Big Daddy Government should put his hands on the EXTREMELY PERSONAL AFFAIRS of an human being. The bullcrap story "after the storm always comes the shining sun blablabla" is a typical moronic-western-fairy-tale that society inculcate on us from our very first day in this world. The ****ing ugly storm can last a whole life.

The man in this story is not guilty of anything. He respected her decision and im sure as **** he knew her better than anyone of us. If he "cuddled" her while she was getting asleep (dying), and that was her choice and desire, i dont see such a big deal. Better than dying 5 years later screaming in the middle of the night because of an heart attack. Or dying in a hospital 7 years later because of cancer. Or... well you get the point.

If the man of this story did what he did, its probably because in this particular occasion that was *maybe* the right thing to do. We dont know anything about Her or Him so best thing people should do is not shove their stupid judgements on him. This kind of stories shouldnt even make it to the newspapers, this part of the wolrd (West) has become like a Big Brother movie where everyone is so eager to listen to sad-happy-dramatic-thrilling real life stories so that they can speak about it for 2 or 3 days and feel good about their opinions. Until the next "Big Brother" movie-like story comes up, and the old story is easily forgotten.

I agree with those that said "it's her life and her choice". There's too much interference in our lives these days - if you can't choose the terms on which we leave this world then what's the point?

I did like the comments:

and

well yeah!!! She would be...:lol:

Let's just imagine for a while that the wonderful world of gynaocracy is for Lesbian Sisters who care about nothing but power. Ex-models my revel in their sexual power, but as it fades into oblivion where do they turn? She had nothing else to offer the world. A rose may wilt and die in a day.

The guy that held her in his arms while she died will not be prosecuted. F**k the system. He should get medal for showing the kind of compassion that very few 'ex-models' would be capable of.

Who needs to change?

They say, this boils down to wether you think Life is Sacred or not. You do not have to be Religious to Believe something is Sacred.

"S: (adj) sacred (worthy of respect or dedication) "saw motherhood as woman's sacred calling""

http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=sacred

Nihilists, do not; they do not believe in anything. I think that position is ridiculous, but it is the position of some very smart people. For example, the idea that Reality, somehow conforms to our Perceptions, is retarded. Of course, we all are born Extreme Egoists. So, believing that, isn't that hard, if you try.

The correct response to this post, in opposition is: BALDERDASH!

PIFFLE!

The idea that many people have of nihilism is a bit of a caricature. Like those clowns in The Big Lebowski. Generally it just means that somebody doesn't see any absolute values in nature. That such values are man-made and projected onto society.

If you see how many different religions and ideologies there are, all of them contradicting each other, then this perception becomes rather obvious. Nihilism does not necessarily mean that people have no feelings or compassion, or that they don't have any values. It just means they consider these values to be personal, rather than universal.

A lot of people today are nihilists in this sense without realizing it. Personally I never use the word, because it sounds unpleasant and causes confusion. I see myself more as a rationalist.

(Watch that comma key now, she's stalking you)

Culture does not = Correct

By your logic, anything is o.k., so long as there is a general consensus, that it is o.k.

Lets not let this conversation end up like this:

This was an interesting post and I am sorry to say, far bolder than I would be myself.