The story didn’t horrify people all over the world because the state was involved but because a teenager was allowed to die. Whether it was because of intervention or because a decision was made not to stop her death is irrelevant.

A few days before her death, she posted to Instagram that she was planning to end her life. In a since-deleted post, Pothoven wrote “I will get straight to the point: Within a maximum of 10 days I will die.” She didn’t die suddenly from anorexia. She planned to die, and then she did. She starved herself to death while people around her watched. Is it so different than leaping from a bridge and having everyone step aside?

According to a report released in January by the World Health Organization, suicide is “the second-leading cause of death among 15- to 29-year-olds globally.” In America, it’s the second-leading cause of death among 10- to 34-year-olds. As recently as 2010, it was the 10th-leading cause. It is a growing problem and one that is contagious. Studies have shown that high-profile suicides lead to more suicides. Pothoven’s death could easily have that same result.

We want people to have autonomy and ease their suffering as much as possible. But that doesn’t mean we just allow people to kill themselves. Mental illness is difficult to combat, but giving up on a 17-year-old should never be normal or acceptable.