Aid-In-Dying Support Grows
A new study says聽physician-assisted death is acceptable to a majority of people in the ethnically聽diverse states of Hawaii and California.
A new study says large majorities of people surveyed online in Hawaii (76 percent) and California (72 percent) support physician-assisted death.
The study, published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, was conducted because aid-in-dying laws are “gaining more public acceptance and support,” the study’s abstract explained, adding, “it is important to understand diverse perceptions toward physician-assisted death.”
Among the findings:
- older participants surveyed were more supportive of physician-assisted death in both states;
- all ethnic groups were equally supportive;
- completion of advance directives was not a significant predictor of attitudes toward physician-assisted death; and
- persons who reported that faith, religion or spirituality was less important to them were more likely to support physician-assisted death in both states.
The major influences on the attitudes to physician-assisted death were religious and spiritual views and age, not ethnicity and gender, the study concluded.
In a press release highlighting the survey,聽Mary Steiner of聽 noted, “The Asian support in Hawaii for physician-assisted death (also known as聽medical aid in dying) is especially significant because this demographic group represents the majority (53 percent) of the state鈥檚 population.”
Read and listen to Civil Beat’s related reporting:
Pod Squad: Will 2017 Be The Breakthrough Year For Medical Aid in Dying?
The Case For Medical Aid In Dying
