Members of the General Assembly are considering a bill that would decriminalize suicide.
Suicide is a common law crime in Virginia, something that was inherited from British law back in the 1700s when people who died by suicide forfeited all their property to the king. In 1961, the British Parliament decriminalized suicide. But it's still a crime in Virginia, one that Delegate Marcus Simon wants to get rid of.
"You have a lot of people who have lost a loved one to suicide who just really don't like having the stigma of having their loved one labeled a criminal when in fact, in their view, it's someone who succumbed unfortunately to mental illness and shouldn't be deemed a criminal," Simon says.
He says the law harms survivors who might not receive benefits or people who attempt suicide who might not be able to receive mental health treatment because they are guilty of criminal activity.
Michael Huffman of the Independent Baptists says the bill devalues life.
"We should do everything to protect life," Huffman says. "And if we don't make suicide a common law anymore then it kind of makes life disposable in some people's eyes."
The bill has already been approved by the House and will be considered by the Senate next week.
