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surveys

Surveys

DWDV Supporters Poll Politicians

During the 2006 November State election, supporters of DWDV polled election candidates and sitting members for their position on DWDV's Legislative Charter.

2006 Election Candidates

Polled	Response Rate	Supportive	Opposed
453	57%	89%	11%

Current Sitting Members

Polled	Response Rate	Supportive	Opposed
128*	53%	76%	24%

* That is, all current members

Clearly, these results are in line with the 2002 Victorian public poll results (see below), and that Victorian politicians on the whole reflect the aspirations and values of the Victorian community in regard to Voluntary Euthanasia. It's about time, then, that the State Parliament enacted reform to give its constituency the range of choices they've wanted for more than quarter of a century, and which they are currently denied.

The Will of the People

In the last two decades, surveys have consistently shown that a majority of Australians believe that terminally ill individuals should have a right to seek and obtain assistance to end their life with dignity. In 1962 it was close to a majority (47%) and by 1978 it was up to 67%, and in 2002 was 73%+. An independent poll conducted by Newspoll and found 80% of Australians in favour, and just 14% opposed.

Date	Yes%	No%	Location
February 2007 *	80	15	National
June 2002	76	19	Victoria
June 2002	73	22	Australia
May 1996	74	18	Australia
June 1995	78	14	Australia
July 1990	77	17	Australia
November 1978	67	22	Australia
ASRBP 1973 ^	69	?	Australia
October 1962	47	39	Australia
* Source: Newspoll Research Report 2007 ^ Source: ASRBP Report 1973 Remainder: Roy Morgan Research Report 2002

Independent surveys consistently show that
the overwhelming majority of Victorians are
in favour of dying with dignity law reform.

Oregon Statistics Refute "Slippery Slope"

The 2006 results for physician assisted dying (PAD) in the State of Oregon in the USA have now been published. They show clearly that there is no "avalanche" of requests. In fact, those who receive their prescription find that its mere availability means they don't have to take precipitative action, with fully one third of patients (34%) never actually taking the script.

Clearly, there is both a need for PAD, and restraint in its use.

Official Oregon PAD Statistics

Catholic Study Refutes "Slippery Slope"

A formal thesis study by a student at a German Catholic college finds that DIGNITAS provides good outcomes for sufferers, and no "slippery slope". More here...

Official Study Refutes "Slippery Slope"

An official review of nine years of Oregon data and twenty years of Dutch data published in the Journal of Medical Ethics shows there is no increased "slippery slope" risk of such laws for the elderly, women, the uninsured, those with low educational status, the poor, people with disability or chronic illness, people with psychiatric illnesses including depression, or racial or ethnic minorities, compared with background populations.

Margaret P. Battin, Agnes van der Heide, Linda Ganzini, Gerrit van der Wal and Bregje D. Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Legal physician-assisted dying in Oregon and the Netherlands: evidence concerning the impact on patients in "vulnerable" groups, Journal of Medical Ethics, Vol 33, No 10, pp 591- 598.

Australian Surveys

•	A 2007 report in the Journal of Medical Ethics shows that a majority of Victorian doctors support physician assisted dying.
•	2007 Poll Summary Findings - Newspoll Febraury 2007. 80% of Australians in favour of PAD, only 14% opposed.
•	2002 VE Poll Summary Findings - Roy Morgan Research. Survey conducted June 2002.
•	2002 VE Poll Detailed Results 2002 (presentation PDF) conducted June 2002.
•	The Intention to Hasten Death: A Survey of the Attitudes and Practices of Surgeons in Australia, by Charles. Douglas et al, Medical Journal of Australia, Vol. 175 (10), 2001 (p. 511-515).
•	1997 Senate Inquiry Report on VE. Chapter 7 (pp81-104) summarises 40 years of surveys of a) the public and b) doctors.
•	A 1997 study found that 45% of physicians did not believe that present arrangements are adequate, 68% believed that physician assisted dying can be an act of caring, and 45% wished to have the option of physician assisted dying. Wilson I, Kay B, Steven I., General practitioners and euthanasia. Aust Fam Phys 1997; 26: 399-401. (Not available online.)
•	End-of-Life Decisions in Australian Medical Practice, by Helga Kuhse, Peter Singer, Peter Baume, Malcolm Clark and Maurice Rickard, Medical Journal of Australia, Vol.155, 17 February 1997.
•	Reaction to a Study of End-of-Life Decisions in Australia, by Professor Peter Baume and Associate Professor Helga Kuhse, Medical Observer: 21 March 1997. (Not available online.)
•	1997 Survey of NSW Nurses' Attitudes to Voluntary Euthanasia, NSW Nurses' Association, November 1997.
•	1997 Survey of the Menzies electorate, February 1997 & Survey conducted Australia-wide, September 1996.
•	Euthanasia: attitudes and practices of medical practitioners, by Peter Baume and Emma O'Malley, Medical Journal of Australia, Vol.161, 18 July 1994. (Not available online.)
•	Euthanasia: A survey of nurses' attitudes and practices, by H. Kuhse & P. Singer, Australian Nurses' Journal, Vol.21, No.8, March 1992. (Not available online.)
•	1988 Doctors' practices and attitudes regarding voluntary euthanasia, by H. Kuhse & P. Singer, Medical Journal of Australia, Vol.148, 20 June 1988.

International Surveys

•	A professional study of the Netherland's euthanasia laws in practice finds no "slippery slope". T.E. Quill, Legal Regulation of Physician-Assisted Death - The Latest Report Cards, New England Journal of Medicine, 356 (19), 10 May, 2007, pp 1911-1913. A. van der Heide, B.D. Onwuteaka-Philipsen, M.L. Rurup, H.M. Buiting, J.J.M. van Delden, J.E. Hanssen-de Wolf, A.G.J.M. Janssen, H.R.W. Pasman, J.A.C. Rietjens, C.J.M. Prins, I.M. Deerenberg, J.K.M. Gevers, P.J. van der Maas and G. van der Wal, End-of-Life Practices in the Netherlands under the Euthanasia Act, New England Journal of Medicine, 356 (19), 10 May, 2007, pp 1957-1965.
•	A Canadian study on suffering with advanced cancer finds that a quarter of patients experience moderate to severe suffering desipte good palliative care, that only around a half of the suffering has a physical basis, and that of physical suffering, pain is not the leading factor. Wilson et al, J. Clinical Oncology, May 1, 2007. One quarter suffer badly Only half of suffering is caused by physical symptoms
•	End-of-life decisions in medical practice in Flanders, Belgium: A Nationwide Survey, by Luc Deliens, The Lancet, 25 May 2000, Vol 356. (Not available online.)
•	A National Survey of Physician Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the United States, New England Journal of Medicine,23 April 1998, Vol. 338, No. 17.
•	A Survey of Patients with Advanced Cancer in the UK found that while palliative care was able to provide good management of lesser pain, still 23% (nearly a quarter) of patients experienced unacceptable severe pain. Robert Twycross, Jean Jarcourt and Stephen Bergl, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, Vol. 12, No. 5, Nov 1966.
•	Euthanasia, Physician-Assisted Suicide, and Other Medical Practices Involving the End of Life in the Netherlands, 1990-1995,by Paul J. van der Maas, Gerrit van der Wal, Ilinka Haverkate, Carmen L.M. de Graaff, John G.C. Kester, Bregje D.Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Agnes van der Heide, Jacqueline M. Bosma, Dick L. Willems, New England Journal of Medicine, 28 November 1996, Vol. 335, No. 22.
•	The Role of Critical Care Nurses in Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, New England Journal of Medicine, 23 May 1996, Vol. 334, No. 21.
•	Legalizing Assisted Suicide - Views of Physicians in Oregon, New England Journal of Medicine, 1 February 1996, Vol. 334, No. 5.
•	Attitudes of Michigan Physicians and the Public toward Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia, New England Journal of Medicine, 1 February 1996, Vol. 334, No. 5

"Parkinson's Disease has slowly debilitated me for some 25 years, leaving in its path, an almost unrecognisable parody of my former self….No-one has assisted me to end my life and the detailed account of my deplorable condition will affirm its necessity and blessed release…Here today, my last day, I am an advocate of Death, yet for over a quarter of a Century, as Founder of The Anthony Nolan Trust I have worked with fervour and determination to give to children and adults throughout the World, suffering Leukaemia and related diseases, the greatest gift of all, THE GIFT OF LIFE….YET, as valuable as that life is, when shown it no longer has quality, reduced to intolerably cruel days and nights of pain and suffering, I have always believed in THE RIGHT TO DIE - WITH DIGNITY"

Shirley Nolan

Shirley Nolan co-founded the world's first Bone-Marrow Register and dedicated over a quarter of a century to saving children and adults suffering immune deficiencies, leukaemia and allied diseases. More...