Poll: 73 Percent of Americans Support Euthanasia

Nearly three out of four Americans support euthanasia, a new Gallup poll revealed.

Here is how the poll breaks down on the issue of whether a doctor should be allowed to end a terminally ill patient's life by painless means if the person requests it:

• A total of 73 percent of adults surveyed are in favor of it.
• 55 percent of weekly churchgoers support euthanasia, while 87 percent of those who rarely, if ever, go to church back it.
• 60 percent of conservatives support it, compared 79 percent of moderates and 89 percent of liberals.
• 67 percent of Republicans or Republican-leaning independents are in favor of it, compared to 81 percent of Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents.

"Last month, the Nevada state Senate voted narrowly to advance legislation that would allow terminally ill patients in the state the option to end their lives," Gallup's Jade Wood and Justin McCarthy noted in their report of the poll.

"Maine's House of Representatives rejected similar legislation that same week, however, after it barely passed in the state Senate.

"Support for euthanasia is nearly double what it was when Gallup first polled on the question in 1947, when 37 percent said it should be allowed by law. By 1973, a slim majority of 53 percent supported it. Since 1990, solid majorities of Americans have expressed support for euthanasia, ranging from 64-75 percent."

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted May 3-7, with 1,011 adults. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.

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