In six short clinical vignettes, the authors describe two psychotic and four neurotic patients, who died after a severe suicidal attempt. Superficially there seemed to be a rather different therapeutic contact, the worse with the two psychotic patients, but also the four neurotics died unexpectedly. Later it was apparent, that the contact with the last four patients was not as good as was assumed. The authors and their teams had certain illusions (which were shattered), about influencing this type of patients. Before they choose too quickly for a new point of view, they try to discuss the responsibility for the suicidal individual, comparing the situation with that of medical abortion and euthanasia. Their conclusion is that thinking about life and death is still as primitive as Freud described in 'Zeitgemsses ober Krieg und Tod'. We can hardly bear any responsibility for suicidal patients as we can hardly assess their vital balance.