ALBERTA EUTHANASIA SURVEY .1. PHYSICIANS OPINIONS ABOUT THE MORALITY AND LEGALIZATION OF ACTIVE EUTHANASIA

Objective: To ascertain the opinions of a sample of Alberta physicians about the morality and legalization of active euthanasia, the determi nants of these opinions and the frequency and sources of requests for assistance in active euthanasia. Design: Cross-sectional survey of a r andom sample of Alberta physicians, grouped by site and type of practi ce. Setting: Alberta. Participants: A total of 2002 (46%) of the licen sed physicians in Alberta were mailed a 38-item questionnaire in May t hrough July 1991; usable responses were returned by 1391 (69%). Result s: Of the respondents 44% did believe that it is sometimes right to pr actise active euthanasia; 46% did not. Moral acceptance of active euth anasia correlated with type of practice and religious affiliation and activity. In all, 28% of the physicians stated that they would practis e active euthanasia if it were legalized, and 51% indicated that they would not. These opinions were significantly related to sex, religious affiliation and activity, and country of graduation. Just over half ( 51%) of the respondents stated that the law should be changed to permi t patients to request active euthanasia. Requests (usually from patien ts) were reportedly received by 19% of the physicians, 78% of whom rec eived fewer than five. Conclusions: This survey revealed severely disp arate opinions among Alberta physicians about the morality of active e uthanasia. In particular, religious affiliation and activity were asso ciated with the polarized opinions. The desire for active euthanasia, as inferred from requests by patients, was not frequent. Overall, ther e was no strong support expressed by the physicians for the personal p ractice of legalized active euthanasia. These data will be vital to th ose involved in health education and public policy formation about act ive euthanasia in Alberta and the rest of Canada.