Thursday March 4, 2010
Canadian Euthanasia Poll Questioned
March 4, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Canadians are not as keen about legalizing euthanasia as some surveys suggest, according to the national pro-life group LifeCanada.
The group is challenging the results of a February Angus Reid poll on euthanasia. The group is claiming that its own poll, conducted by Environics last fall, is a more accurate reading of Canadian public opinion.
“The most serious shortcoming with the Angus Reid poll is that it did not pick up how much Canadians are conflicted about euthanasia,” said LifeCanada board member Peter Ryan, chair of the committee that oversaw the Environics survey.
“We found that while a majority favored legalizing euthanasia, an even higher number were concerned about how vulnerable people could be at risk if legalization occurs.”
Ryan said the key to the poll differences may be in the questions posed. “As far as we can tell, Angus Reid did not explain key terms in the questions, whereas we did.”
For instance, the Angus Reid survey asked, “Generally speaking, do you support or oppose legalizing euthanasia?” and found 67% of Canadians in favor. But LifeCanada says that the question was flawed because euthanasia was not defined.
“Many people are unclear about what euthanasia is,” says Ryan. “For instance, they may mistakenly think it’s every time you shut off life support. Such people may have told Angus Reid they support legalization. That throws results off.”
The Environics survey defined euthanasia as “the use of lethal means to take the life of someone who is sick, depressed, elderly or disabled” and found that 61% agreed with euthanasia, provided the person consents. “We think that’s closer to where public opinion is,” says Ryan.
Similarly, when the Angus Reid poll asked people if they agreed that “legalizing euthanasia would leave the vulnerable without legal protection” and found that 38% agreed, they did not explain how the vulnerable could be impacted. The Environics poll did, and found that a strong majority – 70% – were concerned that legalization would lead to a significant number of vulnerable people being euthanized without their consent.
“Our poll shows just how much people have mixed feelings on the issue,” says Ryan. “This is true in every part of Canada, including Quebec.”
Moreover, he notes that only the Environics poll asked about palliative care as an alternative to euthanasia. “Notably, we found that when asked which should be the government’s top priority – legalizing euthanasia or promoting palliative care – Canadians said palliative care by a whopping margin of almost 4 to 1!”
Ryan says that this finding, and others in the Environics poll, shows that Canadians’ appetite for legal euthanasia is actually quite ambivalent.