For the past 10 years, support for legal euthanasia among Americans has hovered around 7 in 10, according to Gallup.
By Aaron Earls
For almost three decades, at least 2 in 3 U.S. adults have asserted it should be legal for medical professionals should be legally allowed to end the life of a patient with an incurable disease upon request.
Currently, 71% of Americans favor legal euthanasia, saying “doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient’s life by some painless means if the patient and his or her family request it.” For the past 10 years, support has hovered around 7 in 10, according to Gallup.
71% of Americans believe “doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient’s life by some painless means if the patient and his or her family request it,” according to Gallup. Share on XA majority, though somewhat smaller, (66%) also support the practice when framed as legally allowing a doctor to assist someone in committing suicide when they have a disease that cannot be cured and are living in severe pain.
Backing for assisted suicide has been much more volatile since 1996, ranging from a low of 51% in 2013 to a high of 69% in 2021. Only once has more people supported doctor-assisted suicide than euthanasia, 68% v. 65% in 2001.
Gallup first asked about doctors ending a patient’s life through painless means in 1947, when 37% of Americans supported the practice. And favor reached the record low of 36% three years later in 1950. Gallup asked the question again in 1973, with 53% in favor. Since that time, majorities have backed the legality of doctor-assisted suicide.
Currently, doctor-assisted suicide is legal in 10 states and Washington D.C. “under stringent requirements,” according to Gallup. “No states currently allow euthanasia, but physicians are ethically allowed to withdraw life-sustaining treatment for a terminal patient should current interventions not facilitate the patient’s quality of life,” said the report.
“While most states outlaw physician-assisted suicide and classify it as manslaughter or a lesser felony, there are growing movements in roughly 19 states in 2024 state legislatures to permit this practice,“ according to a policy statement from the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).
Morality of suicide
While a clear majority support the legalization of doctor-assisted suicide, fewer view it as moral. Currently, 53% of Americans believe the practice is morally acceptable, while 40% say it is morally wrong. Most have seen it as morally OK since 2014. Before then, sentiment was generally at or below 50%. Since 2001, those who see the practice as immoral have outnumbered those who see it as moral only four times and not once since 2013.
66% of Americans believe doctor-assisted suicide should be legal, but fewer (53%) say the practice is morally acceptable, according to Gallup. Share on XGallup notes that the slightly lower levels of support likely come from the inclusion of the word “suicide” in the question, as it “carries social and religious stigma.” When asked directly about suicide, only 22% of Americans believe it is morally acceptable.
A 2021 Lifeway Research study found 77% of Americans believe suicide has become an epidemic in the United States. The study also found 39% have a friend or family member who committed suicide. Still, few Americans believe people who commit suicide are selfish (38%) or are automatically going to hell (23%).
Religious objections
The religiosity of a person contributes to their attitude toward the morality of doctor-assisted suicide, according to Gallup. The more often one attends church the less likely they are to see doctor-assisted suicide as moral. Among those who seldom or never attend, 67% find it morally acceptable and 28% say it’s wrong. Those who attend nearly weekly or monthly are nearly split. Almost half (48%) believe it is morally wrong and 42% say it is morally acceptable. Among weekly church attendees, 66% call it immoral, while 29% believe it is acceptable.
Additionally, those who are religiously unaffiliated are much more likely to support the practice compared to Christians. More than 3 in 4 irreligious Americans (77%) call doctor-assisted suicide morally acceptable, compared to 44% of Catholics and 46% of Protestants and other Christians.
“Jesus taught that each person should love their neighbors as God loves each of us. Each person has value and purpose because they are loved by God and others,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “When each life matters individually and to the community, voluntarily removing any life is tragic.”
“When each life matters individually and to the community, voluntarily removing any life is tragic.” — @smcconn Share on X“Pain and suffering call for compassionate treatment that supports a God-honoring culture of life, not euthanasia. Ethical principles derived from Judeo-Christian and Hippocratic traditions provide compassionate methods of both hospice and palliative care,” argued the ERLC. “Medicine has been governed for over 2,500 years by the belief it is always wrong to intend to harm one’s patients, including killing or assisting a patient to kill himself or herself.”
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