Survey support strong for physician-assisted suicide

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.