By LifeCanada
Three polls of Canadians on the legalization of assisted dying, carried out in the spring of 2016, showed similar results. All three showed most Canadians reject key recommendations made by a Parliamentary Committee at the end of February. The polls were carried out by Public Square Research (PS),* Angus Reid Institute (ARI),** and Nanos Research/ Globe & Mail (N/GM).***
The following is a comparison of results. The Public Square and Angus Reid polls were multi-question surveys, while the Nanos poll surveyed three questions.
Support for Severe Restrictions
Both the PS and ARI polls showed strong support for severe restrictions.
· The PS poll showed 50% who said “the law should allow a doctor or nurse to administer lethal means to end a patient’s life only in grievous and irremediable circumstances, with strict limits,” while another 10% said “the law should not allow a doctor or nurse to administer lethal means to end a patient’s life under any circumstances.”
· The ARI poll showed 40% favored “strict regulations severely restricting access to assisted death,” while another 10% favored “regulations prohibiting the practice altogether.”
Restrictions on the Mentally Ill
All three polls showed most Canadians do not support giving mentally ill persons access to assisted dying.
· The PS poll showed, that when asked “should it be legal for a doctor or nurse to administer lethal means to end a patient’s life…for mentally ill adults,” only 16% said yes.
· The ARI poll showed 78% agreeing that “Psychological suffering on its own should NOT be considered a reason for obtaining a doctor assisted suicide.”
· The N/GM poll showed 52% disagreeing that “People who are suffering from mental illness or psychiatric conditions should be able to access assisted dying.”
Restrictions on Minors
All three polls showed most Canadians resistant to giving minors access to assisted dying.
· The PS poll showed that, when asked “should it be legal for a doctor or nurse to administer lethal means to end a patient’s life… for teenage minors (under the age of 18), with a disability or chronic illness without the consent of the parent(s) or legal guardian,” only 9% said yes.
· The ARI poll showed 88% opposed to “a new Canadian law on doctor assisted dying extending to included teenagers under 18 who are experiencing several psychological suffering, but are not terminally ill.”
· The N/GM poll showed 59% disagreeing that “Minors who are 16 and 17 years of age should be able to access assisted dying.”
Restrictions Concerning Chronic Illness
Both the PS and ARI polls showed most Canadians are not in favor of allowing assisted dying in the case of chronic illness.
· The PS poll showed that, when asked “should it be legal for a doctor or nurse to administer lethal means to end a patient’s life…for chronically ill adults,” only 31% said yes.
· The ARI poll showed only 36% agreeing that “new laws should allow doctor-assisted suicide” if “a person with multiple conditions like arthritis and diabetes feels overwhelmed and wants to die.”
Concern for Terminal Illness
The PS and ARI polls indicate that when Canadians express support for assisted dying, they mainly have terminal illness in mind. They do not support legal change for most other medical conditions.
· The PS poll showed 88% support in the case of terminal illness, with minority support for nine other medical conditions. Only 4% favored legalization “under any circumstances.”
· The ARI survey showed 76% support when “a person has a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months.” It also found 73% agreed when “a person is in a great deal of pain,” a condition often associated with terminal illness. There was minority support for legalization in seven other circumstances.
Hospitals Should Not Be Forced
The PS and ARI polls showed strong opposition to forcing religious hospitals to provide assisted dying on their premises.
· The PS poll showed 65% answering no to the question, “If the law is changed to allow for medically assisted death or suicide, should religious institutions that provide end of life palliative care be obligated to provide assisted death or suicide it if is against their religious beliefs?”
· The ARI poll showed 59% who agreed “Catholic hospitals should be able to say no on moral grounds and patients who want a doctor assisted death would be moved out.” In addition, 62% said “Nursing homes with moral objections should be able to say no and patients requesting assisted dying would be moved out.”
Doctors Should Not Be Forced
All three surveys showed strong support for letting medical professionals opt out of providing assisted dying.
· The PS poll showed 69% answering no to the question, “If the law is changed to allow for assisted death or suicide, should medical professionals be obligated to provide it if is against their moral beliefs?”
· The ARI poll showed only 36% agreeing when asked, “Should medical professionals who believed assisted suicide is wrong be required to refer to another doctor?”
· The N/GM poll showed 75% saying, “Doctors should be able to opt-out of offering assisted dying against the will of their patients.”
Unique Findings
The PS and ARI polls featured some unique questions and findings. For instance:
· The PS poll found that 51% said only a doctor should be allowed to administer a lethal dose to a patient, versus 34% who said both a doctor and a nurse.
· The ARI poll found that 44% agreed that legislation should require a “minimum waiting time of at least two weeks” before a request for assisted suicide can be carried out, with another 12% who said “Do not allow at all” such a request.
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* Public Square Research, “Doctor-Assisted Death: A Survey of Canadian Attitudes,” 17 March 2016.
Methodology: The research involved a national survey of the general population of 950 Canadian adults in both English and French, including 250 Canadians who self identify as being either physically or mentally disabled, and a targeted oversample of 200 seniors. Data otherwise reflect the Canadian census with respect to age, gender and region. All respondents are members of the Angus Reid Forum online panel. The survey was fielded March 7 – March 14, 2016. This survey was carried out for LifeCanada.
** Angus Reid Institute, “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Canadians reject certain Commons committee recommendation,” 1 April 2016, http://angusreid.org/assisted-suicide-law/
Methodology: The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from March 21 – 24, 2016, among a representative randomized sample of 1,517 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
*** Nanos Research / Globe and Mail, “Canadians’ views on assisted dying in Canada,” National survey release April 2016 http://nanosresearch.com/tickers/PDF/POLNAT-S15-T679.pdf
Methodology: These observations are based on a RDD dual frame (land-and cell-lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,000 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, between March 31st and April 4th, 2016 as part of an omnibus survey. Participants were randomly recruited by telephone using live agents and administered a survey online. The sample included both land-and cell-lines across Canada. The margin of error for a random survey of 1,000 Canadians is ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Editor’s note. LifeCanada was established as a national association of local and provincial educational pro-life groups across Canada for the purpose of promoting the respect and dignity of all human life. This appeared here.