Abstract：
High rates of suicide continue to plague the modern world, with clinicians, researchers, and policymakers working urgently to ameliorate what has been recognized as a worldwide public health crisis. Under American Law, individuals- including health care providers, could generally not be held liable for causing the suicide of another person. This article presents a review of suicide law in the United States in the context of a recent civil case in which a physician with expertise in mental health was sued for the death of an ex-partner who committed suicide in his home. Historical events and landmark legal cases spanning the 15th century to now are examined and presented as a narrative review to inform society and mental health clinicians a-like towards interpreting the changing medical-legal landscape. As modern advances in science continue to discern the critical biopsychosocial factors that contribute to the act of suicide, there is an inevitably growing concern that suicide may no longer be an incomprehensible nor irrational event as has been assumed for centuries. Thus, it may be considered that individual with expertise and qualification to treat a group of individuals at higher risk of suicide (severe mental illness) may be subject to a different standard than the average individual. This article seeks to present a complex matter where no simple or broad-sweeping conclusions can yet be drawn, however remains a critically important matter for mental health clinicians.
摘要：
高自杀率继续困扰着现代世界，与临床医生一起，研究人员,和政策制定者正在紧急工作，以改善公认的全球公共卫生危机。根据美国法律,个人-包括医疗保健提供者，通常不会因导致他人自杀而承担责任。本文介绍了在最近的一起民事案件中对美国自杀法的审查，在该案件中，一名具有精神健康专业知识的医生因在家中自杀的前伴侣死亡而被起诉。对15世纪至今的历史事件和具有里程碑意义的法律案件进行了审查，并作为叙事回顾进行了介绍，以告知社会和心理健康临床医生，以解释不断变化的医学法律格局。随着现代科学的进步继续发现导致自杀行为的关键生物心理社会因素，人们不可避免地越来越担心，自杀可能不再是一个难以理解的事件，也不是几个世纪以来一直认为的非理性事件。因此，可以认为，具有专业知识和资格来治疗一组自杀风险较高的个人（严重精神疾病）的个人可能会受到与普通个人不同的标准。本文试图提出一个复杂的问题，在这个问题上还不能得出简单或广泛的结论，然而，对于心理健康临床医生来说，这仍然是一个至关重要的问题。
