A poll commissioned by a nonprofit organization opposed to Vermont enacting a law that would allow doctors to help terminally ill patients end their lives with prescription drugs found that more Vermonters support a doctor-assisted death bill based on an Oregon law than prefer the current legal situation.
But after asking Vermonters a series of leading questions about concerns surrounding the bill, they shifted their responses to favor leaving the law as it is, without giving physicians immunity for following a highly regulated process for prescribing a lethal dose of medication.
Edward Mahoney, president of the Vermont Alliance for Ethical Health Care and a professor of religious studies at St. Michael’s College, pointed out that those shifts are minimal. The takeaway, he said, is that his alliance’s poll reveals that Vermonters are more divided on the issue than has been suggested in other surveys carried out by organizations in favor of the bill.
“This shows that the support of Vermonters for the Oregon style legislation is not as strong as it was proposed,” he said. “It’s about a third, a third and a third of Vermonters who are divided on whether to have no legislation at all, to go with the Oregon style, or to go with the Senate compromise.”
The poll was released at the beginning of the week, just as the House begins to consider the legislation, called “Death with Dignity” by proponents and “Physician Assisted Suicide” by opponents. The “Senate compromise” Mahoney mentioned refers to the Senate’s narrow vote to gut a 20-page bill based on the Oregon law and leave it without the lengthy set of procedures. For more on this issue, read here.
Proponents of the Oregon-style legislation argue that the procedure-heavy language provides necessary safety nets, while opponents say the bill places the state in between physicians and their patients.
The alliance’s poll was carried out by SmithJohnson Research between March 5 and 7, and the survey polled from 500 interviews and has a sampling error of plus or minus 5 percent.
According to the alliance’s mission statement on its website, its purpose “is to promote the provision of excellent health care at the end of life in an ethical manner and to oppose efforts to legalize physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia in Vermont.”
To read the poll questions and see how the numbers broke down, as provided by the Vermont Alliance for Ethical Health Care, see below.
The Poll (word for word)
Currently the Vermont State Legislature is debating a proposal to legalize Doctor-assisted suicide, which is prohibited under Vermont law. Three different positions have been advocated. The first is to leave Vermont law as it is. The second is to enact an Oregon-style law that allows a doctor to give a terminally ill person a prescription for lethal drugs to take their own life. The third is a compromise that would simply remove a doctor’s liability if their terminally ill patient chose to take an overdose of a prescribed medication and died as a result.
Which of these three do you support: leave current Vermont law as it is, an Oregon-style law, or the compromise position?
%
Leave current VT law as it is 31.5
An Oregon-style law 36.1
Compromise position 27.6
Undecided 4.8
• Possibilities •
A number of organizations including the Vermont Medical Society and disability rights groups are opposed to an Oregon-style doctor-prescribed suicide bill. They fear that such a law would create serious problems. For each of the following problems please tell me if you think the problem will happen, probably will happen, probably will not happen, or will not happen. (A total of nine possibilities were presented; what follows are a sampling.)
Some insurance companies, trying to keep costs down, will deny or delay claims for treatment, instead steering patient to a cheaper, doctor-prescribed suicide option.
%
Will happen 14.5
Probably will happen 34.9
Probably will not happen 28.1
Will not happen 16.2
Undecided 6.3
Some family members, standing to gain financially, will encourage terminally ill patients to choose doctor-prescribed suicide.
%
Will happen 16.3
Probably will happen 35.3
Probably will not happen 32.7
Will not happen 11.7
Undecided 4.0
Some doctors will, on occasion, wrongly diagnose illnesses as terminal when they are not.
%
Will happen 16.6
Probably will happen 36.6
Probably will not happen 30.9
Will not happen 12.9
Undecided 3.0
Some patients will request doctor-prescribed suicide so he or she won’t be a financial burden on his or her family or spouse.
%
Will happen 17.4
Probably will happen 45.7
Probably will not happen 24.7
Will not happen 9.9
Undecided 2.2
If the legislature votes to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide, state government will become more involved in the doctor – patient relationship.
%
Will happen 19.8
Probably will happen 31.9
Probably will not happen 27.7
Will not happen 17.0
Undecided 3.6
Some patients, who are already victims of some form of elder abuse, will be pressured into doctor-prescribed suicide without full, fair, and informed consent.
%
Will happen 13.7
Probably will happen 35.4
Probably will not happen 31.7
Will not happen 16.4
Undecided 2.8
• Informed Ballot •
Now that you have heard some of the concern of opponents of assisted suicide, which of the three options do you now support: leaving current Vermont law as it is, an Oregon-style law, or the compromise position?
%
Leave current VT law as it is 35.7
An Oregon-style law 32.9
Compromise position 27.6
Undecided 3.8
• Legislative Priority •
Now let’s talk for a brief moment about priorities.
Some [other] people believe that doctor-assisted suicide is an important issue, and should be a legislative priority for 2013. Other [Some] people believe the legislature should be tackling much more important problems than doctor-prescribed suicide.
How about you? Do you believe doctor-prescribed suicide should, or should not be a legislative priority for 2013?
%
Should be a priority 37.2
Should not be a priority 60.2
Undecided 2.6
