GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
TORONTO, ONT - In 1997, Robert Latimer was convicted of second-degree murder for the mercy killing of his severely disabled daughter. As he prepares his appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada to overturn his sentencing, the issues of doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia have once again surfaced in the Canadian media.
Gallup has once again sampled the opinions of Canadians on the topic of mercy killing. As was the case over the last three years, about three quarters of Canadians (77%) believe that doctors should be allowed to end the life of a patient whose life is immediately threatened by a disease that causes the patient to experience great suffering. In fact, this statistic has remained quite stable over the past ten years (between 75% and 78%), despite the fact that prior to 1995 the question did not state that the disease was immediately life threatening. This month, nineteen percent (19%) of Canadians oppose doctor-assisted suicide in life-threatening situations, and 4% hold no opinion.
Less Support for Assisted Suicide in Non-Immediately
Life-Threatening Cases
Canadians are less likely to support doctor-assisted suicide if the
patient is suffering from a disease that is not immediately life
threatening, such as a chronically debilitating illness. However,
euthanasia in these cases still draws majority support. Fifty-seven
percent (57%) of Canadians believe that doctors should be allowed,
by law, to end the life of a patient who suffers from a disease
that does not immediately threaten his or her life. This figure is
unchanged since 1995. Thirty-six percent (36%) hold the opposite
opinion, while 7% hold no opinion.
Methodology
Today's results are based on 1,004 telephone interviews with
adults, 18 years of age and older, conducted November 9-15, 1998. A
sample of this size is accurate within a 3.1 percentage point
margin of error, 19 in 20 times. A stratified random sample is used
with age and sex weights. The margins of error are higher for the
regions reflecting smaller sample sizes. For example, in Quebec,
270 interviews were conducted, with a margin of error of 6
percentage points, 19 in 20 times.
Dr. R. Gary Edwards is Vice President of Gallup and Josephine Mazzuca is Research Analyst
"When a person has an incurable disease that is immediately life-threatening and causes that person to experience great suffering, do you, or do you not think that competent doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life through mercy killing, if the patient has made a formal request in writing?"
Should Doctor-Assisted Suicide Be Permitted In Immediately Life-Threatening Cases
| Yes | No | No Opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National: | |||
| 1998 Nov 9-15 | 77% | 19% | 4% |
| 1997 Nov 17-23 | 76 | 18 | 7 |
| 1995 Jul 4-10 | 75 | 17 | 8 |
| Region: | |||
| Atlantic | 67% | 30% | 3% |
| Quebec | 82 | 15 | 3 |
| Ontario | 74 | 21 | 5 |
| Prairies | 70 | 27 | 4 |
| B.C. | 89 | 8 | 3 |
"Lorsqu'une personne est atteinte d'une maladie incurable qui menace immédiatement sa vie et qui occasionne de grandes souffrances à cette personne, croyez-vous ou non, qu'en vertu de la loi, des médecins compétents devraient être autorisés à mettre un terme à la vie du patient par euthanasie si le patient en fait la demande formelle par écri
"When a person has an incurable disease that is not immediately life-threatening but causes that person to experience great suffering, do you, or do you not think that competent doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life through mercy killing, if the patient has made a formal request in writing?"
Should Doctor-Assisted Suicide Be Permitted In Non-Immediately Life-Threatening Cases
| Yes | No | No Opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National: | |||
| 1998 Nov 9-15 | 57% | 36% | 7% |
| 1997 Nov 17-23 | 57 | 34 | 8 |
| 1995 Jul 4-10 | 57 | 32 | 11 |
| Region: | |||
| Atlantic | 45% | 52% | 4% |
| Quebec | 64 | 30 | 6 |
| Ontario | 56 | 38 | 6 |
| Prairies | 58 | 34 | 7 |
| B.C. | 54 | 37 | 9 |
"Lorsqu'une personne est atteinte d'une maladie incurable qui ne menace pas immédiatement sa vie mais qui occasionne de grandes souffrances à cette personne, croyez-vous ou non, qu'en vertu de la loi, des médecins compétents devraient être autorisés à mettre un terme à la vie du patient par euthanasie si le patient en fait la demande formelle par écrit?"
Note: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
Prior question:
"When a person has an incurable disease that causes great
suffering, do you, or do you not think that competent doctors
should be allowed by law to end the patient's life through mercy
killing, if the patient has made a formal request in
writing?"
Whether Doctor-Assisted Suicide Should be Permitted
| Yes, Should |
No, Should Not |
No Opinion |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| National: | |||
| 1994 Dec 5-11 | 76% | 16% | 8% |
| 1994 Mar 7-13 | 75 | 17 | 8 |
| 1992 Oct 15-19 | 77 | 17 | 6 |
| 1991 Oct 2-5 | 75 | 17 | 9 |
| 1990 Aug 8-11 | 78 | 14 | 8 |
| 1989 Jun 7-10 | 77 | 17 | 6 |
| 1984 Feb 2-4 | 66 | 24 | 10 |
| 1979 Sep 6-8 | 68 | 23 | 9 |
| 1974 Mar 2-5 | 55 | 35 | 10 |
| 1968 August | 45 | 43 | 12 |
"Lorsqu'une personne est atteinte d'une maladie incurable lui occasionnant de grandes souffrances, croyez-vous, ou non, qu'en vertu de la loi, des médecins compétents devraient être authorisés à mettre un terme à la vie du patient par euthanasie, si le patient en fait la demande formelle par écrit?"