(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in the District of Columbia believe a form of euthanasia should be allowed, according to a poll by SurveyUSA released by WUSA-TV. 50 per cent of respondents think physician-assisted suicide should be legal, while 39 per cent disagree.

In the United States, the state of Oregon legalized assisted suicide in 1994. In July 2005, a bill that would have allowed adults with less than six months to live the right to obtain lethal drugs from a doctor and take them themselves to end their own lives was defeated in the California State Legislature.

Doctor-assisted suicide became a controversial topic in the U.S. in the 1990s, after Jack Kevorkian—a doctor who claims to have helped more than 100 people end their lives—became a fervent supporter for the right to die.

In March 1999, Kevorkian was found guilty of second-degree murder and delivery of a controlled substance for administering lethal drugs to Thomas Youk, who suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Kevorkian will be eligible for parole in 2007.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act in a 6-3 decision.

Polling Data

Do you think physician assisted suicide should? Or should not be legal?

Should: 50%
 
Should not:  39%
 
Not sure: 11%

Source: SurveyUSA / WUSA-TV

Methodology: Telephone interviews with 500 Washington, D.C. adults, conducted on Jan. 18, 2006. Margin of error is 4.5 per cent.

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