Suicide in India: A break for the despairing 印度的自杀：一场绝望的间歇

　　India decriminalises attempted suicide. 印度将“自杀未遂”合法化。

　　Gorav Gupta has spent his life helping the mentally ill. Gorav Gupta一生致力于帮助精神疾病患者。

　　But when suicidal patients seek help at his psychiatric hospital in Delhi, he turns them away. 但是当有自杀患者去他在德里的精神病咨询医院求助时，他不接诊。

　　Mr Gupta says he cannot handle the “legal hassle” that might ensue if they try to end their lives while in his care. Gupta解释说，要是他的病人在他的治疗期间选择自杀，那么他可搞不定的这个“法律上的大麻烦”。

　　Attempted suicide, as well as “any act towards the commission” of suicide, has for years been a crime in India. 数年来，自杀未遂及有集体自杀倾向的行为在印度都被定为犯罪。

　　But on March 27th, the Lok Sabha, India's lower house, passed a package of mental-health reforms, among them one that decriminalises attempted suicide. 然而，在3月27日，印度众议院的下议院通过了精神健康的改革方案，其中一项便是自杀未遂行为合法化。

　　The bill declares access to psychiatric care to be a right for all Indians, and promises a huge boost in funding to help provide it. 这项法案宣布所有印度人都有机会有权利接受精神治疗，并且法案还保证会大力支持这个项目。

　　Policymakers in India have long argued that people driven to attempt suicide need rehabilitation. 印度的决策者认为那些自杀未遂的人们是需要接受精神治疗的。

　　But under the previous law, they faced punishment: a fine and up to a year in prison. 但是先前的法律让这些人接受的是惩罚：受一年或一年以上的牢狱之苦。

　　Prosecution was rare, but the threat of it to extract bribes from the families of those who attempted suicide was not, says Soumitra Pathare, who helped draft the new legislation. 帮助起草这项法案的Soumitra Pathare说，帮助起草这项新法案的Soumitra Pathare表示，起诉虽寥寥无几，但威胁之处在于对那些自杀未遂之人的家庭贪赃枉法的比比皆是。

　　Others point out that the government has previously used laws against attempted suicide to lock up activists who stage hunger strikes. 其他人指出，政府曾用自杀未遂行为的法律来制止激进分子的绝食抗议。

　　The next step in mental-health reform is to allocate more money and expand the workforce, says Mr Pathare. Pathare说精神健康改革方案的下一步就是要增加拨款和扩大员工队伍。