Attitudes toward assisted suicide: a survey of hospice volunteers.

Abstract

Technological advances have lengthened our years and, often, the dying process as well. While studies have been conducted of physicians and dying patients concerning their views on assisted suicide, no prior studies have examined the attitudes of hospice volunteers. This survey of 277 hospice volunteers found that overall their attitudes were more supportive of assisted suicide than that of a convenience sample of the public. Thirty-seven percent of the volunteers endorsed the view that there are situations when assisting death may be morally acceptable; 4% had been asked to provide assistance to help a patient end his or her life.