Even if they truly were motivated by fear of pain and embarrassment (which I think is a rather poor caricature of suicidal people), nonetheless they also must conquer fears that are obstacles to the act of suicide, such as fear of death, fear of shame, fear for family, etc.
Such bravery is not necessarily something that should be encouraged, but it still fits the definition of bravery. So I'll agree with you on your broader point that we should be careful how we use virtue words.
Only so evil.