What Are Some Statistics About Euthanasia?
As of July 2014, the total number of doctors who support euthanasia is approximately 54 percent. The amount of private citizens who support it for terminally ill patients is 86 percent. The private citizens who support euthanasia for terminally ill patients who otherwise would die in pain is 55 percent.
Dr. Kervorkian, the American doctor jailed for administering euthanasia drugs to patients requesting this assistance, served eight years in prison for assisting in suicides. Out of a poll of 1,001 Americans, 42 percent supported legalizing euthanasia. In the same poll, 37 percent of Americans opposed euthanasia while 22 percent remained undecided. Among those who were polled, 47 percent of Democrats supported euthanasia while 51 percent of Republicans opposed the legalization of euthanasia.
In 1990, approximately 9 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands were the result of euthanasia. The states of Washington and Montana have legalized physician-assisted suicide. In 2013, the state of Vermont recognized physician recommended suicide as a medical treatment. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that there is no legal right for citizens to obtaining physician-assisted suicide and that there is no constitutional protection for those who seek euthanasia, including no legal protection for patients engaging in euthanasia or doctors who administer it.
