Resolving Ethical Dilemmas in Suicide Prevention: The Case of Telephone Helpline Rescue Policies

The ethical basis of suicide prevention is illustrated by contrasting helpline emergency rescue policies of the Samaritans and the AAS and the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. We contrast moralist, relativist, and libertarian ethical premises and question whether suicide can be rational. Samaritans respect a caller's right to decide to die by suicide; U.S. helplines oblige emergency intervention during an attempt even against the caller's will. We analyze the effect of emergency rescue when there is high suicide risk but an attempt has not been initiated. We examine links between values and actions, needs for empirical evidence to guide practice, and propose vigorous dialogue about values in the gray zone of moral practice.     

A method for implantation of a chronically indwelling intravenous catheter in the pigeon

A procedure is described for infusing liquids directly into the bloodstream of freely moving unanesthetized pigeons. The system can be used for infusing drugs periodically or chronically for many months. Its potential for studying the stimulus properties of drugs, state dependent learning, drug self-administration, as well as the unconditioned responses to noncontingent intravenous drug administration in pigeons is discussed.