Three polls of Canadians on the legalization of assisted dying, carried out in the spring of 2016, showed similar results. LifeCanada has made an analysis of all three to show how their findings compared.
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).
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.”
All three surveys showed strong support for letting medical professionals opt out of providing assisted dying.
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- 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.”
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.”
More on this important analysis can be found here.
LifeNews Note: LifeCanada (www.lifecollective.io/lifecanada) was established in 2000 as a national association of local and provincial educational groups across Canada in order to promote the value of human life, to serve our members, and to advocate for the most vulnerable members of society.
