Akatsi South MP, Bernard Ahiafor says Parliament’s decision to decriminalise attempted suicide is long overdue.
According to him, suicidal thoughts result from a mental condition that needs psychological attention and not a hostile law that frowns on the condition.
“The person is in a state of mind such that he or she cannot appreciate the nature and quality of the act that he will be carrying out- taking his life away knowing very well life is one and once it is lost it can never be regained. The person is either having a mental problem or a psychological problem.
“Now it’s a criminal offense for you to attempt committing suicide, therefore families do not open up for the person to be subjected to psychological therapy or treated medically, so that such a thing does not reoccur again simply because once you open it up, the security agencies will come and arrest them. That does not solve the problem,” he said in an exclusive interview on JoyNews on Wednesday.
Mr Ahiafor explained that the removal of the penalty was imperative since it will allow more people with psychological challenges to seek help without fear, adding that the passage of the bill is a step in the right direction.
“Research has shown that most people that attempt suicide, attempt it again until they finally succeed, because the mental condition or the physiological problem that the person is having is still there.
“So we realise that criminalising attempted suicide does more harm to society than good,” he said.
The Legislator said he was confident that the President will pass the bill into law expeditiously.
“The whole House has agreed on it and I believe the entire country is also in agreement with the decriminalisation of attempted suicide. The President will soon accent to it and it will become law,” he said.
Background.
Parliament has amended sections of the Criminal Offenses Act of 1960, which makes attempting to take one’s own life a crime.
Following the amendment in Parliament on Tuesday, March 28, persons who attempt suicide will be considered as having mental health issues requiring assistance by law rather than imprisonment.
Some legislators had earlier kicked against calls to decriminalise attempted suicide.
In 2019 during a conversation in Parliament on whether to decriminalise the act or not, former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said that attempt to commit suicide should be considered a crime and not be pardoned.
The Tamale South MP stated that calls to decriminalise the act should not be heeded and said suicide is unacceptable behaviour.
However, Mr. Ahiafor noted that even the choice of words used to describe suicide-related cases is worrying and stated that an attempted suicide should not be criminalised.
“I am trying harder not to say ‘people who wanted to commit suicide’ – it’s a language we want to move away from. So, don’t say ‘somebody who committed suicide’ because that criminalises the offence.
To this end, Ghanaian health experts have since pushed for the law to be changed, saying attempted suicide is a medical condition that needs health support rather than imprisonment.
Some survivors of attempted suicide had also called for resources to be spent on prevention.
Meanwhile, 1,500 cases of suicide are reported nationwide every year.
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