Americans’ attitudes on end-of-life intervention consistent: Survey

( NewsNation ) — Americans’ attitudes toward legalizing euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide have remained fairly consistent over the past decade, according to the latest Gallup survey .

71% of those asked believe doctors should be “allowed by law to end the patient’s life by some painless means if the patient and his or her family request it.” 69% agreed with that sentiment in Gallup’s 2014 survey.

66% favor legalizing “doctor-assisted suicide,” compared to 58% a decade ago. “Doctor-assisted suicide” refers to patients ending their own lives with the aid of a physician.

“Doctor-assisted suicide consistently receives slightly lower support, likely because ‘suicide’ carries social and religious stigma,” according to Gallup’s summary of its results.

Gallup has been asking those questions, or something similar, since 1947. In that first survey, 37% supported legalizing doctors ending a patient’s life. Gallup didn’t start asking about doctor-assisted suicide until 1996.

A parallel question Gallup asks is about the morality of doctor-assisted suicide. In its latest survey, 53% believe it’s morally acceptable for a doctor to help someone end their life, while 40% said it’s morally wrong.

Gallup doesn’t conduct surveys about the morality of legalized euthanasia.

Doctor-assisted suicide is legal, with strict requirements, in ten states and the District of Columbia. No state allows euthanasia, but doctors may withdraw life-sustaining treatment for a terminal patient.

The Gallup survey, conducted in May, queried 1,024 American adults by phone. It has a 4% margin of error.

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