Attitudes toward assisted suicide and euthanasia among physicians in Washington State

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• End-of-Life Care
• Physician Attitudes

Background:

• Public interest in legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is high.
• Physician perspectives on these end-of-life practices remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the attitudes of physicians in Washington State toward physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.
• To understand physicians' willingness to participate in these practices.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to 1355 randomly selected physicians in Washington State.
• Specific phrasing was used to define physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia to avoid ambiguity.

Main Results:

• 69% of physicians responded to the survey.
• A majority of physicians supported legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in some situations.
• However, a smaller percentage of physicians expressed willingness to perform these procedures.

Conclusions:

• Physician attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in Washington State are polarized.
• While a slight majority favors legalization, most physicians are unwilling to directly participate.