Most Americans – 72 percent – now agree that euthanasia should be legal when they are asked if a physician should be allowed to end the life of a terminally-ill patient with the approval of the patient and the family, Gallup reported on Thursday.
Gallup said it found support for euthanasia across nearly all subgroups in the United States, except for weekly churchgoers, where the support drops below 50 percent.
Gallup said, though, that terminology made a difference in support. The 72 percent acceptance rates falls to 65 percent when the words "commit suicide" were used in expressing support for ending a life.
The number drops even more, to 54 percent, when asked if doctor-assisted suicide was morally acceptable.
"These findings, from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs poll conducted May 1-10, are consistent with data from recent years," Gallup said. "However, opinions have changed since Gallup first gauged the public's attitudes about euthanasia in 1947 and 1950.”
"At that point, fewer than four in 10 supported legally and painlessly ending a terminally ill patient's life. But in 1973, when the question was next asked, a slim 53 percent majority were in favor."
Since 1990, support for euthanasia for terminally-ill patients has not dropped below 64 percent and has been as high as 75 percent, Gallup reported.
For those who attended church on a weekly basis, only 41 percent supported euthanasia. For those who attended church monthly, 58 percent supported it and 78 percent of those who seldom or never attended church supported it, according to Gallup.
Despite the wide support, organizations like Focus on the Family have said euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicides are ripe for abuse where third parties could stand to benefit financially from such actions.
Focus on the Family has argued that assisted suicide sends a message that some lives are not worth saving, opens up a new avenue for elder abuse, creates a "duty to die" culture, and negates the possibility of seeking better medical alternatives.
Physician-assisted suicide is currently legal in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Washington, D.C. also allows it.
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