Polls & Research

Assisted Suicide Remains Divisive in U.S.

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Adults in the United States remain split on the topic of euthanasia, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 48 per cent of respondents favour legalizing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients, while 39 per cent are opposed.

Support for euthanasia is higher when the word "suicide" is not used to describe the actions. 52 per cent of respondents think states should have the right to let doctors prescribe medications that would help mentally competent, terminally ill patients end their lives.

In the U.S., the state of Oregon legalized assisted suicide in 1994. In July, a bill that would have allowed adults with less than six months to live the right to obtain lethal drugs from a doctor and take them themselves to end their own lives was defeated in the California State Legislature.

Doctor-assisted suicide became a controversial topic in the U.S. in the 1990s, after Jack Kevorkian—a doctor who claims to have helped more than 100 people end their lives—became a fervent supporter for the right to die.

In March 1999, Kevorkian was found guilty of second-degree murder and delivery of a controlled substance for administering lethal drugs to Thomas Youk, who suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Kevorkian will be eligible for parole in 2007.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Gonzales v. Oregon case, which seeks to challenge the legality of Oregon's physician-assisted suicide legislation.

Polling Data

Do you favour or oppose legalizing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients?

Do you think states should have the right to let doctors prescribe medications that would help mentally competent, terminally ill patients end their lives?