(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The push to legalize euthanasia is supported by a majority of people in Britain, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 71 per cent of respondents generally oppose the practice, while 18 per cent are opposed.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The push to legalize euthanasia is supported by a majority of people in Britain, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 71 per cent of respondents generally oppose the practice, while 18 per cent are opposed.
Britain’s Suicide Act 1961 states that "a person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the suicide of another" may be liable to imprisonment for up to 14 years, if a prosecution is brought with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Earlier this month, best-selling British author Terry Pratchett—who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease—called for euthanasia to be legalized in the United Kingdom, declaring, "It is one’s own life and one shouldn’t be forced into going into a care home for example if one would simply prefer to die at the right time. (…) If granny walks up to the tribunal and bangs her walking stick on the table and said ‘Look, I’ve really had enough and I’d like to die thank you very much young man’, I don’t see why anyone should stand in her way and I don’t see why she should not have, if she wishes, medical assistance to die."
The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Albania and Thailand allow for some form of euthanasia, as well as the states of Oregon and Washington in the United States.
Polling Data
Generally speaking, do you support or oppose legalising euthanasia in the UK?
|
Jan. 2010 |
Aug. 2009 |
|
|
Support |
71% |
75% |
|
Oppose |
18% |
14% |
|
Not sure |
11% |
10% |
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 2,004 British adults, conducted on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27, 2010. Margin of error is 2.2 per cent.
