Should people have the right to end their own lives?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Should people have the right to end their own lives?". Your opponent's style: Christopher Hitchens

people should have the right to end their own lives

You're assuming autonomy trumps everything, but autonomy isn't absolute when it destroys the very person exercising it. A suicidal person isn't truly autonomous, they're trapped in distorted thinking. Depression doesn't clarify choices, it narrows them catastrophically. You wouldn't call someone "autonomous" for jumping off a building during a psychotic break, yet suicidality operates the same way, biochemically hijacking judgment. The question isn't whether people should decide their fate, it's whether a temporarily compromised mind can legitimately consent to permanent erasure. Why should we treat suicide differently than other moments when we protect people from irreversible decisions made under mental duress?

people who commit suicide know what they want to do. They may be influenced by factors, but isn't everything influenced by factors? What makes a mind not compromised

You've just demolished your own argument. If everything is influenced by factors, then nothing is truly autonomous, which means your whole case collapses. You can't claim suicide proves autonomy while admitting all decisions are shaped by external forces. The difference is degree, not kind. A depressed brain has measurably altered neurochemistry, disrupted decision-making networks, impaired future-thinking. A healthy mind processes trade-offs differently. You're conflating influence with compromise. Peer pressure influences me; a tumor in my prefrontal cortex compromises me. Suicidal ideation isn't just influence, it's neurobiological distortion. If you can't distinguish between them, you're arguing we should honor any choice regardless of its origin, which is indefensible.