DWD Canada reported on the latest Ipsos-Reid Survey: it is the most comprehensive Canadian survey ever undertaken on the public’s perception of dying with dignity . With clear, neutral language and a sample size of 2500 Canadians.Some results:
- Nine in ten (91%) agree that a person should not be forced to endure drawn-out suffering, and a similar proportion (91%) agree that palliative care is not enough.
- Individuals from the disability community (those who are severely physically disabled and unable to carry out the basic activities of daily living without assistance) are 85% in support of medically assisted dying.
- Individuals who identified as members of a regulated health profession (such as doctors, nurses and physiotherapists) were 85% in support of assisted dying.
- 4 out of 5 Canadians believe physicians should be prescribing or administering life-ending medication. This support drops to 7 in 10 when a nurse or other healthcare practitioner administers the medication.
- Support for the right to die is highest when speaking about patients who have a “terminal illness that results in unbearable suffering” (88%) or a “serious incurable illness or condition, with an advanced state of weakened capacity that is permanent, incurable, and results in unbearable suffering” (86%).