Suicide

Suicide is the act of deliberately taking one's own life. Throughout the known galaxy, individuals commit or have committed suicide for a variety of reasons. These reasons ranged from mental distress to cultural considerations to external factors, such as telepathic influence.

Cultural Reasons
In some societies, an individual's culture will dictate that a person commit suicide at a certain point. Examples of cultural reasons for committing suicide include the following:


 * For five hundred years (mid-late 18th century to mid-late 23rd century), the citizens of the planets Eminiar VII and Vendikar had been fighting each other in a war. This war eventually developed to the point where the war was fought entirely with simulated weapons by computers. Citizens would voluntarily enter disintegration stations, and would be vaporized in the process.
 * Klingon warriors who either had been injured, became ill, or lost honor would have a friend or family member assist them to perform the Hegh'bat, a form of ritual suicide.
 * Capellans perform a ritual called the w'lash'nogot when a person believes that their death will ensure another's survival.
 * In Klingon culture, a suicide that results in the death of an enemy is considered an honorable way to die. However, suicide for other reasons may not be considered honorable.
 * Members of terrorist organizations at times set off explosives that not only resulted in their own deaths, but also caused death and injuries, as well as property damage. In the 23rd century, there were a number of suicide bombings on Lorina.
 * All members of the Kaelon race are required to perform suicide at age of sixty. The Kaelons believed thtat if they did not do so, they would become a burden to their families and to society at large.
 * Some Vulcans have been known to perform ritual suicide if their health deteriorated to the point where they could not function.
 * During the Bolian middle ages, a philosophy was developed called the "Double Effect Principle". A form of assisted suicide, the philosophy stated that the relief of suffering was acceptable despite having the effect of causing death.
 * Xindi-Reptilians have a suicide gland that they would use when captured.
 * All Vortas have a termination implant. They are expected to activate the implant in order to avoid capture, or when ordered to do so by a superior, such as a Founder. While the Vorta have been assured that this implant was painless, Vorta who activated their implants stated that it was not.
 * Section 31 operatives also have a suicide implant, which they will activate when captured and facing interrogation.

Contemplated / Attempted Suicides

 * In an alternate timeline, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) crew member Jenniver Aristeides contemplated suicide after the death of Captain James T. Kirk.
 * After escaping to the surface of Talos IV, Number One set her phaser to overload when the Talosians refused to let Captain Pike contact the Enterprise, stating that it was wrong to create a race of humans to live as slaves. When other Talosians arrived, Pike asked her to wait, and Number One stopped the overload.
 * After being subjected to the simulation of prison life by the Agrathi, Miles O'Brien was traumatized by the experience, and had extreme difficulty readjusting to life on the station. When in a fit of anger he nearly struck his daughter Molly, he fled to a cargo bay, where he very nearly committed suicide with a phaser set on maximum. Fortunately, Doctor Bashir was able to prevent O'Brien from committing suicide.
 * In 2349, Capellan Starfleet Captain Leonard James Akaar attempted to perform the w'lash'nogot ritual in order to conserve supplies and greaten the odds of survival for his companion, longtime friend Ensign Tuvok. Tuvok refused to allow his friend and Captain to die, and revived him.
 * As Data's positronic brain evolved, the number of neural pathways increased exponentially, and was very disorienting for Data. At one point he seriously considered having his neural network wiped clean and starting over again, in effect committing a suicide of sorts. He later decided not to have his memory wiped, but instead looked upon his problems as challenges to overcome.
 * In 2367 the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) became trapped in a Tyken's Rift. Due to an alien presence also trapped in the rift, almost the entire crew became unable to achieve REM sleep and dream.  This caused the crew to become mentally unstable.  When an attempt to escape failed Worf attempted to commit suicide using his D'k tahg.
 * After his spine was crushed in a cargo bay accident, Worf asked Commander Riker to assist him to perform the Hegh'bat, a form of ritual suicide.
 * Despondent over his loss of status within the Klingon Empire, Kurn contemplated suicide with a disruptor, despite the fact that suicide under these conditions would be dishonorable. However Kurn was too drunk to carry out the suicide, and lost consciousness. Worf arranged for Doctor Julian Bashir to completely wipe Kurn's memory and to perform cosmetic surgery to alter Kurn's appearance. Mogh's friend Noggra agreed to take Kurn into his family and care for Kurn as his son. Kurn woke up with no memory of his past life. Kurn then began his life as Rodek, Son of Noggra.
 * In an accident in a nebula involving protomatter, Neelix was killed and later revived by Seven of Nine using nanoprobes. The experience traumatized Neelix, who very nearly committed suicide by beaming himself back into the nebula.

Completed Suicides

 * After his role as a Terra Prime operative was revealed, Enterprise (NX-01) crewman Ensign Musaro confronted Captain Archer in a corridor. He apologized to Archer and asked Archer to tell his parents he was sorry before commiting suicide with a phase pistol.
 * When the Elasian Kryton was discovered to be a Klingon agent after sabotaging the Enterprise ' s engines, he grabbed a phaser from a nearby guard and committed suicide with the weapon - which had been set to disintegrate.
 * Commodore Matthew Decker flew the shuttlecraft Einstein into the Planet Killer after being unable to defeat the device with the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), feeling that he should've died with his crew. The shuttlecraft exploded inside the Planet Killer, causing a slight energy loss, and demonstrating to Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock how to defeat the Planet Killer.
 * Dr. Sevrin, upon learning that the planet he had sought out was not Eden, but instead was a planet where all the plant life was highly acidic and poisonous, committed suicide by biting into a piece of fruit.
 * On the planet Midgwis, Yarblis Geshkerroth the Ghost Walker had been cast out of the Consciousness Web - or the shared telepathic experiences of the Midgwin community - by Patriarch Kailin Arxoras for the crimes he committed against Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise. A short time later Geshkerroth sought forgiveness from Doctor Gordon for having harmed her, and then committed suicide by throwing himself into a nearby river.
 * When Clark Terrell and Pavel Chekov were captured by Khan Noonien Singh, Khan used parasitic Ceti eels to interrogate the two men. The eels were inserted into their ear canals, which then insinuated themselves into the cerebral cortex of both men. Khan was then able to control Terrell and Chekov through suggestion, and used them to take control of the Reliant. After attacking the Regula I space station, Khan ordered Terrell to kill Admiral Kirk, who had arrived to investigate the attack. Terrell was able to resist Khan's influence. But the pain of the Ceti Eel became too much, and Terrell instead turned his phaser on himself.
 * Romulan Admiral Alidar Jarok committed suicide by swallowing a felodesine chip after learning that the new campaign of aggression planned by the Romulan military was nothing more than a ruse designed to expose him as a traitor.
 * Due to a chemical imbalance brought on by a lack of certain elements from their systems, the members of the Jarada hive Zel began to go insane. A number of Jaradan pilots engaged in Kamikaze attacks against the Enterprise. As the shields were up, the Enterprise suffered no permanent damage. While some of the pilots were beamed off their ships at the last moment, a number of other pilots could not be saved, and died when their ships crashed into the Enterprise shields.
 * A guard in service to the House of Duras had an explosive implanted in his arm. Hoping to commit an honorable suicide and kill Gowron in the process he detonated the device. However, Gowron survived and the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) learned that it was a Romulan explosive device.
 * The Cardassian High Gul committed suicide with a phaser upon realizing that his return to his people would be disastrous for his people.
 * Luther Sloan activated his suicide implant in order to keep Dr. Bashir and Miles O'Brien from discovering the cure to the disease Section 31 infected the Founders with. However, the two were able to retrieve the information from Sloan's mind before he died.
 * After convincing Captain Janeway to rule in his favor, the Q who would later become known as Quinn was granted mortality by the Continuum. Soon afterwards, Q provided a toxic substance, which Quinn ingested to commit suicide.