Why is it illegal for people to kill themselves?

In some legal traditions a person's body is owned by the state. Therefore, it is not yours to kill. In Canada for example, the state still has an interest in a human body; just exactly what that interest is, well, that is still being debated.)

In Canada it is not illegal to kill yourself. It is just cause under the Mental Health Act to have you confined in a mental health facility until the doctors feel you are no longer a threat to yourself or others.

The right to die is a complicated issue. On the one hand, we want to help alleviate the suffering of people who are chronically ill, in severe pain, with no hope of recovery. On the other hand, we don't want an able bodied, strong young person who is temporarily upset to commit suicide.

Generally speaking there is no 'law' that prevents you from killing yourself, it would be foolish to classify attempted suicide as a crime (unless you recklessly endanger others) since it would only exacerbate the person's problems. Rather, the police have the right to place you in protective custody and they have the right to prevent a suicide.

Note that IT IS an offence, under the Canadian Criminal Code, to ASSIST a suicide, either by actions, or by in-action.

In the United States of America it is not illegal to commit suicide. None of the fifty states has a law which makes suicide illegal. No federal law prohibits suicide. Several of the states have laws which prohibit assisting a suicide..

Something to Ponder
Assuming there were a law against suicide, how would the person who commited suicide be prosecuted? Post Mortum? (That means after the person is dead.)

It is not illegal to kill yourself, it is illegal to fail-Shwanzig

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