Suicides Kill More Than Car Crashes

Apropos my On the Square column today, a report notes that more people die from suicide in the USA than from car crashes.  From the Healthday story:

More Americans now commit suicide than die in car crashes, making suicide the leading cause of injury deaths, according to a new study… “Suicides are terribly undercounted; I think the problem is much worse than official data would lead us to believe,” said study author Ian Rockett, a professor of epidemiology at West Virginia University. There may be 20 percent or more unrecognized suicides, he said.

Heck, in some states some suicides aren’t even included in the suicide statistics—such mendacity thanks to the assisted suicide movement.

I just don’t see how we can fight that scourge by saying that some suicides are good and only some are bad.  That kind of mixed messaging accomplishes less than zero.