Polls on assisted-suicide vary dramatically with question
An American survey of surveys about doctor-assisted suicide shows that people’s answers shift with the wording of the pollsters’ questions — “one of the chief markers of unresolved thinking”, according to the research group Public Agenda. People are significantly less likely to support it if the word “suicide” is used and significantly more likely when safeguards are described or if “wishes of a dying patient” are mentioned.
Public Agenda examined several polls done in 1997 and 1999. When the word suicide was avoided, support for legalisation fell from 68% to 45%. When the wishes of dying patients were mentioned, support rose from 45% to 61%. When safeguards were described, support reached 67%.
Latest posts by Mumbai (see all)
- Prescribe morning-after pills to young teenagers, say US pediatric group - November 30, 2012
- Bahrain sentences protest docs to prison - November 28, 2012
- Terry Pratchett assisted suicide documentary wins International Emmy - November 27, 2012
More Stories
Silicon Valley obsessives turn to pro-natalism
This month, the 8 billionth child entered the world. Demographers believe that the world’s population is moving towards 10 billion....
UK judge refuses request for posthumous sperm retrieval
With few laws regulating it, judges often grant permission to grieving partners or parents to retrieve sperm from young men...
New world record for the longest frozen embryo – 30 years
Lydia and Timothy Ridgeway were conceived in April 1992 and were born in October 2022 in Portland, Oregon. They hold...
New study revives fears of ‘spermageddon’
Sperm counts around the world appear to have halved between 1973 and 2018. According to a study in the journal...
Is the UK poaching nurses from poor countries to fill shortages?
The United Kingdom is poaching nurses from poorer countries which have nursing shortages of their own, according to a blistering...
Teaching the brains of paralysed people to communicate
One of the most terrifying accidents imaginable is to become paralysed and to be unable to speak. Fortunately, scientists are...