Honestly calling euthanasia, “euthanasia,” reveals that most Americans oppose legalization. From the story:
A new Angus Reid poll find that 42 percent of American adults are in favor of making euthanasia legal in the United States, although 52 percent feel legalizing induced death would leave vulnerable people without sufficient legal protection. The survey steered clear using such deliberately non-threatening terms as “Death With Dignity” favored by supporters of assisted suicide. In the 2008 election, by a 58 percent to 42 percent vote, Washington became the second U.S. state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. In its poll of 1,001 American adults, taken Feb. 4 and 5, Reid asked: “Generally speaking, do you support or oppose legalizing euthanasia in the United States?” The results: 14 percent answered “Strongly Support,” 28 percent “Moderately Support”, 14 percent “Moderately Oppose,” and 23 percent “Strongly Oppose.” A total of 22 percent were not sure.
The results were more evenly split about whether assisted suicide “should be prosecuted,” with a plurality saying yes:
“Do you think people who help a person to commit suicide should be prosecuted?” Reid asked. Thirty-seven percent said “Yes,” 34 percent answered “No,” with 28 percent “Not Sure.” Independent voters were strongest in saying those who assist suicide should not be prosecuted.
This is why euthanasia/assisted suicide advocates use euphemisms to sell the hemlock: They think that with gooey phrases, they can fool enough of the people, enough of the time to get their agenda through.
February 11th, 2010 | 9:10 pm
“Digna-Die”, now available over the counter in the bright blue box!
February 11th, 2010 | 10:05 pm
This is legalized murder. How convienent that they can say that the person killed wanted to be, when the person is not around to deny such rubbish. It makes the perfect cover for murder.
February 12th, 2010 | 1:30 am
There seem to be two different questions here. For when they actually asked:
“Generally speaking, do you support or oppose legalizing euthanasia in the United States?” The results: 14 percent answered “Strongly Support,” 28 percent “Moderately Support”, 14 percent “Moderately Oppose,” and 23 percent “Strongly Oppose.”
More support it than oppose it. Sad, but true. It is only the separate question of whether those who are vulnerable would have less legal protection that it splits the other way.
Joe
February 14th, 2010 | 11:40 am
There is a great difference between active euthanasia and assisted suicide, and the outcome of any survey depends on both the survey population and how the questions are phrased.
Take, for example, the matter of abortion in cases of rape. Depending on the way in which he’d like the results to come out, the surveyor might phrase a key question in one of these ways:
A. Should a woman be allowed to murder her baby simply because she was impregnated by rape?
– OR -
B. Should a women who’s been raped be forced to bear her rapist’s child?
To skew the result even more in my favor I might present Question A to a population drawn “randomly” from the mailing list of Concerned Women for America; or, I might present Question “B” to a population drawn “randomly” from the mailing list of NARAL.
So, it helps to see the entire list of Angus Reid questions and the methodological data, rather than simply the results of one or two questions.
February 14th, 2010 | 12:12 pm
Wesley:
Coincidentally, just after posting the message about survey methods I visited Steve Ertelt’s LifeNews website. Ertelt, an occasional poster here, believes the Reid survey question about euthanasia is “flawed” although he doesn’t bother to say why. He goes on to quote your colleague Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition who, he says, told him that “pro-life advocates can win the debate “if they frame the assisted suicide based on the truth” (whatever THAT is).
Quoting Schadenberg: “We often lose heart when an online poll is linked to a terrible story and it appears that most people favor assisted suicide. The fact is that we are all affected by an emotional story but when the issue is discussed based on being a ‘recipe for elder abuse’ or connected to the Barbara Wagner story or connected to a real life story of a person with a disability, then we win,” he explained.
“We need to take these types of poll results to heart and tell others that legalizing euthanasia gives a physician the right to directly and intentionally cause your death and legalizing assisted suicide gives a physician the right to be directly and intentionally involved with causing your death.”
“I find that most people really don’t like the idea of giving someone else the right to cause their death,” Schadenberg concluded.
It would seem that Mr. Schadenberg is suggesting, with respect to public opinion surveys, that his side would prevail if only it would frame the issues in a manner that would skew the survey’s outcome in its favor.
I would be interested in your comments as an ethicist, on Mr. Schadenberg’s apparent call to let the end justify the means.
February 14th, 2010 | 6:52 pm
If we’re going to look to real surveys then the demographic needs to be segmented by age groups and there needs also to be a series of questions that build upon the earlier question.
Only then can we parse the data properly.
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