A surprising debate in the US may shed some light on opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia. Parents of soldiers who have committed suicide on active duty are complaining that their children are not receiving the same recognition for services to their country, although benefits and decorations are basically the same. But they feel wounded by the fact that since the Clinton Administration, the US President does not send condolence letters to families of those who committed suicide.

According to the New York Times, there were more than 300 suicides in 2009, the most since records began in 1980. Most occur in the US, but at least 184 troops have killed themselves in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001. The Army is taking the troops’ mental health seriously and has set up suicide prevention and emotional resilience programs. But no letters of condolence are arriving from the President.

“The roots of that policy, which has been passed from administration to administration via White House protocol officers, are murky and probably based in the view that suicide is not an honorable way to die,” the Times reports. The White House says that the policy is being reviewed. ~ New York Times, Feb 1