Doctors' practices and attitudes regarding voluntary euthanasia

Abstract

We report the results of a survey of the attitudes and practices of doctors in Victoria [Australia] with respect to requests for active help in dying from patients who were suffering from a terminal or incurable disease. Questionnaires were sent to 2000 Victorian doctors who had been selected at random, 869 of whom returned completed questionnaires. The survey indicates that a clear majority of those who responded to the questionnaire support active voluntary euthanasia and that many doctors have provided active help in dying. Forty percent of doctors indicated that they would practice active voluntary euthanasia if it were legal. We compare the results of our survey with a recent telephone survey of British [UK] general practitioners.