ATTITUDES OF MICHIGAN PHYSICIANS AND THE PUBLIC TOWARD LEGALIZING PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE AND VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA

Background. There has been a continuing public debate about assisted s uicide and the proper role, if any, of physicians in this practice. Le gislative bans and various forms of legalization have been proposed. M ethods. We mailed questionnaires to three stratified random samples of Michigan physicians in specialties likely to involve the care of term inally ill patients: 500 in the spring of 1994, 500 in the summer of 1 994, and 600 in the spring of 1995. Similar questionnaires were mailed to stratified random samples of Michigan adults: 449 in the spring of 1994 and 899 in the summer of 1994. Several different questionnaire f orms were used, all of which included questions about whether physicia n-assisted suicide should be banned in Michigan or legalized under cer tain conditions. Results. Usable questionnaires were returned by 1119 of 1518 physicians eligible for the study (74 percent), and 998 of 130 7 eligible adults in the sample of the general public (76 percent). As ked to choose between legalization of physician-assisted suicide and a n explicit ban, 56 percent of physicians and 66 percent of the public supported legalization, 37 percent of physicians and 26 percent of the public preferred a ban, and 8 percent of each group were uncertain, W hen the physicians were given a wider range of choices, 40 percent pre ferred legalization, 37 percent preferred ''no law'' (i.e., no governm ent regulation), 17 percent favored prohibition, and 5 percent were un certain. If physician-assisted suicide were legal, 35 percent of physi cians said they might participate if requested - 22 percent would part icipate in either assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia, and 13 per cent would participate only in assisted suicide. Support for physician -assisted suicide was lowest among the strongly religious. Conclusions . Most Michigan physicians prefer either the legalization of physician -assisted suicide or no law at all; fewer than one fifth prefer a comp lete ban on the practice, Given a choice between legalization and a ba n, two thirds of the Michigan public prefer legalization and one quart er prefer a ban. (C) 1996, Massachusetts Medical Society.