2005-10-11 From: Genetic News, New Rochelle, NY, US
Physicians and General Public Support Physician-Assisted Suicide
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10/11/2005 2:16:00 PM EST

Results of a new national survey of 677 physicians and 1,057 members of the general public revealed that the majority of both groups believe that physicians should be permitted to dispense life-ending prescriptions to terminally ill patients who have made a rational decision to die due to unbearable suffering.

The national survey was conducted by HCD Research during October 6-9, in response to the Supreme Court proceedings that are challenging the state of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act. The margin of error in the survey was plus or minus 3% at a 95% confidence level.

The survey indicated that nearly two-thirds of physicians (62%) and the general public (64%) believe that physicians should be permitted to dispense life-ending prescriptions.

Among the findings:

-- Over half of physicians (54%) and nearly two thirds of the general public (70%) indicated that federal or state government should not be given the right to decide if physician-assisted suicide is a legitimate medical purpose.

-- A majority of physicians (70%) and the general public (66%) believe that Chief Justice Roberts will have some influence on the final decision of the Supreme Court.

-- An overwhelming majority of physicians (76%) and slightly more than half of the general public (52%) reported that the justices' personal experiences with serious illnesses will bias their decisions.

-- While more than half of physicians (65%) believe that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's vote would affect the court's decision, less than half of the general public (46%) believe that it would affect the decision.

-- Given the choice between Justice O'Connor's vote and Supreme Court Nominee Harriet Miers' vote, a clear majority of physicians (74%) indicated that they would rather see Justice O'Connor's vote count, while only 44% of the general public indicated they would prefer Justice O'Connor's vote, and 40% of the general public reporting that they didn't know.

"Although the high percentage of physicians who support the ability to prescribe such medications may be somewhat surprising, I believe it is the result of physicians' personal relationships with their patients and the desire to act in the best interest of each patient," commented Craig Alter, M.D., specialist in the Pediatric Endocrinology Division of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a clinical associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "In addition, this survey does not imply that physicians feel there should be uncontrolled access to these medications," he noted.

According to Arthur Kover, Ph.D., a management fellow at the Yale University School of Management and consulting director at HCD Research, while the majority of physicians and the general public support physician-assisted suicide, the debate will become increasingly rancorous. "I believe that those who oppose physician-assisted suicide feel their opinions much more deeply than the majority who support it. Therefore, they will continue to fight despite their shrinking numbers," explained Dr. Kover.

To view detailed results for the physicians' poll, please go to: http://publish.hcdhealth.com/P1007/
To view detailed results of the general public poll, please go to: http://publish.hcdi.net/C0004/

Editors/Reporters: For more information on the poll, or to speak with Dr. Craig Alter or Dr. Arthur Kover, please contact Vince McGourty, M&M Communications, Inc., at (908) 638-5555 or (vinmcg@earthlink.net).

HCD Research is a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based marketing and communications research. HCD Research is also the developer of readmylipz.com, a political ad testing web site for the 2004 Presidential campaign. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company's web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393