The laws are mostly of Christian origin. My dad wanted to check out, but my mom wouldn't hear of it, because she believed it would grease his skids right into ****. He wasn't a Christian, so the question was probably moot. A lot of churches still won't allow a suicide a church funeral. He died of lung cancer, so he killed himself with 65 years of Camel straights. At the end, the doctors killed him. He was in such terrible pain that they slapped a fentanyl patch on him. After that he never regained consciousness, and died of dehydration when he couldn't drink water any more. My father-in-law went in a similar fashion, but with an unregulated morphine pump.
There needs to be more discussion of means. As you probably know, 2/3 of gun deaths in the US are suicides. That's a horrible thing to do to the survivors. Somebody has to clean up the mess. I have done it. You would not believe how much blood there is in a human body. It sprays all over the walls and pools on the floor. You would not believe the stench. I wore a carbon canister respirator, and could still smell it. I urge anyone thinking of eating a bullet to at least go outside where the bugs can do the cleanup.
I suspect that the big runup in drug overdoses is due, at least in part, to choosing a painless and neater way to go. If you are under a doctor's care and he/she is willing to sign the death certificate, there won't even be an autopsy. People can hang it up as "accidental," the survivors can have their church funeral, and anything that helps people through the grief is a good thing. Of course, the ideal thing is to tell your loved ones in advance that your time has come, but if you can't trust them not to interfere, that may not be a choice.
Having been caregiver for my parents as they died, I think growing old with dignity is pretty unlikely. My mother's best friend was the exception. She was in her late 70s, and they found her on a bench on the back porch with her boot laces still in her hands. When I was a kid, I didn't understand the old guys who said they wanted to "die with their boots on." Now that I'm in my 70s, that's what I want too. I've had my three score and ten. There are worse things than dying.
I agree with each of them. I do believe that some of those who think they have everything planned may be in for a big surprise. I know my Dad and his Dad never wanted to go to a nursing home, but eventually had to. Of course, in my days as a police officer, I've seen some suicides, one was even a Baptist preacher uncle of mine by marriage. Could I do it? Probably not, but I do think that should be a legally available option to those who wish to do so.
