Survey support strong for physician-assisted suicide
March 1, 2002
Survey support strong for physician-assisted suicide
A national survey has shown that most adults favor a person’s right to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
When read a brief description of the Oregon proposition allowing physician-assisted suicide for patients who are thought to have less than six months to live, 61% of respondents said they would favor such a law in their state. Respondents also said they disagreed with Attorney General John Ashcroft’s move to overturn the Oregon proposition.
The results were part of a Harris Interactive telephone poll with a nationwide sample of 1,011 adults. The key findings include:
• Sixty-five percent of respondents said the law should allow doctors to comply with the wishes of a dying patient in severe distress who asks to have his or her life ended. Harris Interactive has asked this question repeatedly since 1982, when 53% of respondents supported it. Support peaked at 73% in 1993, and has declined somewhat since then to the current level of 65%.
• Sixty-three percent of respondents disagreed with the 1997 Supreme Court ruling that individuals do not have a constitutional right to doctor-assisted suicide. This figure is virtually identical to results obtained in 1997 (65%).
• When read a detailed description of the Oregon proposition, 61% of respondents favored the provision that would allow doctor-assisted suicide for patients with six months or less to live if all three of the following conditions were met:
— The patient requests physician-assisted suicide three times.
— There is a second physician’s opinion supporting the patient’s request.
— There is a 15-day waiting period for the patient to change his or her mind.
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