One of the rules for police to be allowed to arrest someone without "cause" is if the individual is a threat to themselves.
Based on the victimless crime theory, would suicide (assuming no one else gets hurt) be something that authorities should ignore?
Or, would the person committing the suicide be deemed the potential victim? Requiring the authorities to intervene.
In my mind you could try to convince them not to do it, but you could not stop them if they were certain it is what they want. It should be their choice. Just like if you see a drunk person you could try to convince him not to drive and offer some alternatives. The key is you can try to help, but you cannot FORCE.
Things you do to yourself intentionally would not make you a victim.
I agree with what your saying in this post, but I have been trained/programmed to always try to prevent/reduce the chances of what might happen. There are many what-if scenarios running through my head ; but it all boils down to a use of force. Do I have the right to force someone else to do what I feel is right? No.
If someone is drunk and contemplating committing suicide and I can't convince them otherwise. Even if I strongly believe that they wouldn't do it if they'd just sober up. Do I have the right to forcibly imprison them until they sober up, then let them make the decision? The person in question is an 18 year old University student who has also taken LSD.
In 1994, I had the above scenario. I spent 4 hours alone with him in an elevator that I put on emergency stop. I'd never met him before. I had security call the police and paramedics once I had released the elevator. I convinced the police that he was a danger to himself. (Allowing them to take him to the hospital against his will).
A couple years later, some guy comes up to me and asks if I remember him. I did not. He told me that I had saved his life that day.