Abstract
This study investigated (1) the level of support for euthanasia under three conditions of suffering (physical pain; the debilitated nature of the body; impact on the family) experienced b), oneself a significant other, and people in general, and (2) the level of support for four types of euthanasia (voluntary active, voluntary passive, involuntary active, involuntary passive). Descriptive statistics indicated general support for all four types of euthanasia, with the highest support shown when euthanasia was presented as both voluntary and passive; the least support was recorded when euthanasia was presented as involuntary and active. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that endorsement of euthanasia varied as a function of both the conditions of suffering and the identity of the person for whom euthanasia was being considered.
Introduction
Since the early 1990s, when the bizarre figure of Jack Kevorkian drove his now-famous rusty Volkswagen van onto the national scene, his front-seat passenger, death, has muscled its way into the headlines, into the nation's courtrooms and legislatures, and into our collective political consciousness. All of us, even those of us who are normally backseat drivers, have a stake in what is happening. For death, unlike other major social issues like abortion or capital punishment, concerns each of us. One by one, we are drawn into its thrall, first through the deaths of the people we love, then as we make our own mortal journeys.
For many, the inevitability of dying is too painful to contemplate. Our society is marked by a consummate denial of death; most of us prefer to pretend it doesn't exist. We shy away from making our wills and leaving instructions about the kind of end-of-life care we want.......
