Physician-assisted suicide: a survey of attitudes among Swedish physicians

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the attitudes of Swedish physicians towards physician-assisted suicide. Design: A postal questionnaire on the respondent's opinion of physician-assisted suicide was sent to a randomly selected sample of physicians in Sweden. The respondents were given the opportunity of furnishing arguments of their own and of prioritizing arguments. They were also asked about possible influence on their own and patients' trust in the healthcare system if physician-assisted suicide was to be legally accepted. Participants: 1,200 physicians from six specialties, approximately 200 individuals each in: general practice, geriatrics, internal medicine, oncology, psychiatry and surgery. Setting: The study was commissioned by the Swedish Medical Society and its logo was printed on questionnaires and envelopes. Results: The total response rate was 74%, ranging between 63%—80% among the specialties. On average 34% were pro physician-assisted suicide, 39% against it and 25% were doubtful; 2% per cent did not respond to the question at all. Psychiatrists were significantly more accepting than oncologists, who were the most restrictive specialty. Older physicians (>50 years) provided a significantly more accepting attitude than younger ones (≤51 years). Conclusions: Despite the fact that the World Medical Association condemns physician-assisted suicide as unethical, the present survey indicates that there is no clear majority for or against physician-assisted suicide among Swedish physicians, and that significantly more elderly physicians have an accepting attitude towards physician-assisted suicide. There is a need for further research explaining the differences between the age groups as well as the variation between specialities.