Control in the end - RxRemedy survey on attitudes towards doctor-assisted suicide

American Demographics, May, 1997 by Brad Edmondson

Support for the concept of doctor-assisted suicide is strong among older Americans, according to a new survey by RxRemedy of Westport, Connecticut. But most of them also say that if someone else asked them for help in committing suicide, they probably wouldn't do it for fear of being arrested. Older women are more likely than men to believe that if doctors did more to control pain, the need for euthanasia would go away.

Increasing age doesn't affect these opinions. Among American aged 55 to 64, 65 to 79, and 80 and older, 65 percent either agree or strongly agree that "people should have the legal right to commit suicide with a physician's assistance if they have a terminal disease, such as cancer." Across all of these age groups, 57 to 60 percent agree that "fear of legal repercussions would deter me from assisting someone in committing suicide."

Fifty-seven percent of the RxRemedy sample agrees that "more attention to pain control would virtually or totally eliminate the need for euthanasia." Agreement with this statement is significantly lower than average among older Americans who have a graduate-school education, and higher among women and the oldest old. While the survey highlights older Americans' clear desire to avoid pain at the end, it also shows that most people would prefer that nature take its course.