THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BLACKS AND WHITES ATTITUDES TOWARD VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA

Researchers have consistently found that blacks are more opposed to le galizing voluntary euthanasia than are whites. Although sketchy and un tested, theories for this race difference attribute it either to a dif ference between the two groups' levels of fundamentalism, or to a diff erence between the two groups' levels of fear regarding of giving othe rs the power to end one's life. Data from the General Social Survey (G SS) and the Ohio Death and Dying Survey (DANDS) are used to examine to what extent these two variables, along with socioeconomic status and political conservatism, account for blacks' greater opposition toward legalizing voluntary euthanasia. An exploratory structural equation mo del of attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide, though based on li mited data, suggests that all four variables are important in explaini ng the difference between blacks' and whites' attitudes toward legaliz ing voluntary euthanasia.