[novok]

A lot of the behavior is driven by liability avoidance by doctors and mental health professionals. They do not want to be put in a long drawn out lawsuit, convicted or not by someone's family members because they didn't report and deal with someone who wanted to commit suicide. Remove that possibility and I think many doctors will stop doing that too.

I know a few and they really, really, really hate how the system & law forces them into this corner, to the point where they actively try to avoid suicidal patients, because they don't want to report them. There is a similar dynamic with being a mandated reporter for children when giving them therapy.

[quantumBerry]

Mandatory reporting seems to be a tool invented to keep abused children away from health and mental care workers, since parents who are worried about mandatory reporting will simply choose to not have their child treated.

Even for those who dearly love and care for their children, it's not a great feeling knowing that the slightest misinterpretation _requires_ that health / mental professional to refer you for prosecution. Instead of helpers, doctors and therapists have to be viewed as threats.