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San Francisco: The City That Hates Plastic Bags But Not Suicide

By "Milbarge" and "Fitz-Hume"

I wrote a bit here and here last year about the Golden Gate Bridge and its popularity as a suicide destination. I think it's ridiculous, callous, and irresponsible for the bridge authority to have refused for so long to erect a suicide-prevention barrier. I guess San Francisco has more pressing matters, like banning plastic shopping bags. (It does not appear that preventing human suffocation was one of the motives for the ban.)

Well, the Washington Post had an article recently noting that new studies confirm that one theory against a suicide barrier -- that if people decide to kill themselves, they'll simply choose another method, and a barrier won't lower the suicide rate -- is bunk. Most suicides are somewhat impulsive, and preventing a jump off the bridge can lower the overall suicide rate: a large study of people who were prevented from jumping showed that 94 percent had not later committed suicide by some other means.

The article suggests that this evidence may finally prod the bridge authority to take some action. Let's hope so.

Full post as published by Begging the Question on March 04, 2008 (boomark / email).