Poll: Most Americans Say Suicide Is Wrong — But Many Support Physician-Assisted Suicide Anyway
A new Gallup poll shows most Americans believe suicide in general is morally wrong, but opinions are split over physician-assisted suicide.
Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey measures Americans’ views on a wide variety of behaviors — like gambling, human cloning, divorce, and so on.
This year’s survey found 70% of Americans say suicide is morally wrong, which is a strong majority.
But here’s the contradiction: views on “doctor-assisted suicide” are nearly evenly split, with a staggering 49% of Americans saying physician-assisted suicide is morally acceptable.
It seems like many people may believe that suicide is wrong — except in certain cases or when a doctor assists with the suicide. That should concern every pro-life Arkansan.
Physician-assisted suicide is typically sold to the public as a “compassionate” option for people facing terminal illness. But experience has shown that assisted suicide doesn’t help people who are sick or dying, and it doesn’t remain limited to a few cases.
In Oregon — the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide back in 1997 — a record 637 lethal prescriptions were written last year. Of those patients, only two were referred for psychiatric evaluation before receiving a prescription for suicide. That is a serious failure.
Data shows many of these patients are lonely and feel like they are losing control over their lives. They need counseling and support — not a deadly prescription.
Assisted suicide fundamentally changes the doctor-patient relationship from healing to killing. The Hippocratic Oath promises to “first, do no harm.” Prescribing lethal drugs violates that sacred trust.
The slippery slope is real. In Canada, Belgium, and Netherlands, assisted suicide has expanded far beyond rare, terminal illnesses. Canada is on pace to record its 100,000th assisted suicide death this summer. What starts as a “compassionate choice” eventually becomes routine killing.
In parts of the U.S. where physician-assisted suicide is legal, insurance companies have refused to pay for patients’ medical care, but have offered to cover assisted suicide drugs.
Being pro-life means believing innocent human life is sacred from conception until natural death. Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide violate the sanctity of innocent human life.
That’s why Family Council has strongly opposed assisted suicide legislation in Arkansas. In 2019 and 2021, Arkansas lawmakers wisely rejected very bad end-of-life legislation. Family Council worked closely with our friends in the legislature to stop those proposals.
Gallup’s survey shows Americans understand that suicide is wrong. We should remember that holds true even when activists try to dress it up as “medicine.”
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
