Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young adults and the elderly. According to a short article on international efforts to prevent suicide:
“According to World Health Organisation statistics, in the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide and the global suicide rate was 16 per 100,000 in 2009. In all countries, suicide is now one of the three leading causes of death among people aged 15-34 years.”
The article goes on to quote a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal finding that motherhood decreases the likelihood of suicide, with the effect increasing with each child a woman gives birth too. The Canadian article can be accessed here.
Teresa Collett
Teresa Stanton Collett is a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she teaches bioethics, property law, and constitutional law. A nationally prominent speaker and scholar, she is active in attempts to rebuild the Culture of Life and protect the institutions of marriage and family. She often represents groups of state legislators, the Catholic Medical Association, and the Christian Medical and Dental Association in appellate case related to medical-legal matters. She represented the governors of Minnesota and North Dakota before the U.S. Supreme Court as amici curiae regarding the effectiveness of those states’ parental involvement laws. She has served as special attorney general for Oklahoma and Kansas related to legislation designed to protect the well-being of minors and unborn children. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has testified before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittees on the Constitution, as well as numerous legislative committees in the states.
