I get a couple newsletters from PC here and there have been a few that dealt w/ suicide including the issue that you are talking about. How society does place a stigma on suicide although we allow assisted death for our beloved pets we do not allow our beloved humans that same compassion. There was a blog by Doc John on this but I can't remember the title it was quiet a while a go.
I think a large part of this attitude is from fear. Humans as a rule do not like to think of death especially the death of any human as it reminds them of their own mortality. Another part of it is cultural, English culture tends to stay as far away from death as it can. We separate our elderly, we hide the cemeteries and put the sick and dieing into sterile places where we do not need to visit. To bring it out and talk about brings up feelings and our culture is not good with negative feelings--I didn't say bad feelings, just negative as apposed to positive good warm fuzzy feelings. Anger is much more accepted than feeling grief or sad although both are very valid feelings. In our culture feeling grief and sadness has been turned into a medical problem. Buck up and grieve in private, don't bother others with your pain is the prevailing attitude. Suicide is the same. It does need to be talked about.
Thank you for your thread. 
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Nammu
…Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. …...
Desiderata Max Ehrmann
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