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Death with dignity - results

Here is how other Science Buzz visitors are answering these questions.
Your responses are included.

old woman and hospital bed

Marie is 82 years old, and in the final stages of a terminal disease. She relies on a respirator to help her breathe, and feeding tubes for food and water. She is in constant pain. The doctors expect she has only a few months to live. Marie feels she is ready to die, and has asked her doctor if he can give her an injection that will allow her to pass away peacefully and painlessly.

Should doctors help terminally ill patients commit suicide?


Yes = 459
No = 277
Don't know / No answer = 92
Total votes = 828

What if Marie's hospital care was very expensive, and she was being pressured by her family or her insurance to end treatment.
Should the doctors comply with her wishes?


Yes = 358
No = 368
Don't know / No answer = 102
Total votes = 828

What if Marie had lost consciousness, and her family asked the doctors to "pull the plug" on her life-support-meaning she would either suffocate or starve to death?
Should the doctors comply?


Yes = 374
No = 334
Don't know / No answer = 120
Total votes = 828

What if Marie wasn't terminally ill, but rather had advanced Alzheimer's? She can no longer feed herself, understand language or recognize or interact with family members. Physically she is healthy, but mentally it's as if she were in a waking coma. There is no hope for recovery. In her living will, she requested no extreme measures to keep her alive.
Should a patient with such severe mental impairment be allowed to die?


Yes = 467
No = 269
Don't know / No answer = 136
Total votes = 872