Surveys on attitudes to active euthanasia and the difficulty of drawing normative conclusions

Purpose: To present surveys on active euthanasia and to discuss what normat ive conclusions can be drawn. Methods: Two summary articles and 30 recent s urveys on attitudes to active euthanasia are discussed. Results. According to the first summary article, acceptance of active euthanasia among the pub lic has stabilized around 65%; according to the second, almost 60% of physi cians are in favour of legalizing active euthanasia. As for the 30 recent s urveys, physicians are most often respondents, while the general public is surveyed in only three. The differences in attitudes are striking: 21-78% a nswered that active euthanasia should be legalized, and 14-51% rejected thi s idea. The core of the general problem of drawing normative conclusions fr om empirical data is first addressed; then we discuss the principles of aut onomy and beneficence, which are often referred to in arguments for and aga inst euthanasia.