The euthanasia debate: synthesising the evidence on New Zealander's attitudes

Figures & data

Table 1. Final database search strategy.

1. exp *Euthanasia/	9. 7 or 8
2. euthanasia.mp.	10. assisted dying.mp.
3. 1 or 2	11. medical aid in dying.mp.
4. exp *Suicide, Assisted/	12. aid in dying.mp.
5. assisted suicide.mp.	13. 3 or 6 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12
6. 4 or 5	14. exp *New Zealand/
7. exp *Right to Die/	15. exp *Australasia/
8. right to die.mp.	16. limit to humans

Figure 1. PRISMA flow diagram.

Figure 2. Percent support, opposition and unsure for euthanasia/assisted dying over time.

Table 2. Support and opposition for euthanasia/assisted dying by ethnicity.^a

Ethnicity	NZ European		Māori		Pacific		Asian		Indian		Other
Poll	Support (%)	Oppose (%)	Support (%)	Oppose (%)	Support (%)	Oppose (%)	Support (%)	Oppose (%)	Support (%)	Oppose (%)	Support (%)	Oppose (%)	Respondents (total)
Colmar Brunton 2008	70		68		65						67		1000
Horizon Research 2012	65		65	10	62	9	56	14	43	24			2969
Curia 2015	68	18	50	25	47	32	56	19			54	41	2782
Research NZ 2015	69	22	61	27							62	27	500
Rae et al. 2015	82	18	93	7							64	36	677
Horizon Research 2017	78	11	71	10	63	17	48	14	63	26	86	6	1272
Colmar Brunton 2017	78						58						1007
Average (weighted)	70.5	16.7	63.5	15.9	57.3	19.6	55.0	16.0	49.0	24.6	64.3	30.5

^aBased on available data.

Table 3. Support, opposition and unsure for euthanasia/assisted dying by political party preference.^a

	Poll	Labour	National	NZ First	Green Party	ACT	United Future	Māori Party	MANA/Internet-Mana	Conservative	All other	Unsure	Would not vote	Respondents (total)
Support	Horizon 2012	68%	70%	68%	73%	58%	68%	67%	63%	38%	93%	39%	59%	2969
	Reid 2015	74%	71%	72%	81%	51%	100%	71%	50%	22%	0%	52%	71%	1000
	Curia 2015	63%	69%	69%	77%	81%						55%		2782
	Horizon 2017	82%	83%	69%	77%	71%	58%	66%	73%	50%	88%	63%	71%	1272
Average (weighted)		69%	72%	69%	76%	68%	70%	67%	64%	39%	79%	50%	64%
Oppose	Horizon 2012	10%	12%	20%	9%	20%	12%	8%	23%	45%	3%	14%	11%	2969
	Reid 2015	22%	27%	25%	15%	49%	0%	29%	0%	79%	0%	34%	16%	1000
	Curia 2015	19%	18%	19%	12%	17%						21%		2782
	Horizon 2017	6%	10%	20%	6%	8%	32%	24%	9%	36%	12%	6%	18%	1272
Average (weighted)		13%	15%	20%	10%	19%	16%	15%	16%	47%	5%	17%	13%
Unsure	Horizon 2012	23%	18%	12%	18%	23%	16%	25%	14%	17%	4%	47%	30%	2969
	Reid 2015	5%	3%	3%	4%	0%	0%	0%	50%	0%	0%	15%	13%	1000
	Curia 2015	14%	11%	10%	9%	10%						15%		2782
	Horizon 2017	12%	7%	12%	16%	21%	10%	9%	29%	14%	0%	30%	11%	1272
Average (weighted)		16%	12%	11%	13%	16%	12%	18%	23%	14%	2%	30%	23%

^aBased on available data.

Table

Source	Question	Response	Sample size, representativeness, response rate (where available)	Mode of survey delivery
Colmar Brunton 2017	Parliament is to consider a new bill on euthanasia. Do you think a person who is terminally or incurably ill should be able to request the assistance of a doctor to end their life?	74% support, 18% oppose, 9% unsure	1007, weighted for representativeness	Telephone with randomly generated landline numbers.
Horizon 2017	Do you support a law change to allow medical practitioners to assist people to die, where such a request has come from a mentally competent patient, 18 years or over, who has end stage terminal disease and irreversible unbearable suffering, e.g. cancer? Do you support a law change to allow medical practitioners to assist people to die, where such a request has come from a mentally competent patient, 18 years and over, who has irreversible unbearable suffering which may not cause death in the immediate future e.g. motor neurone disease or some other degenerative or irreversible condition?	75% support, 11% oppose, 8% neutral, 6% unsure 66% support, 14% oppose, 15% neutral, 5% unsure	1274, weighted for representativeness	Online with members of Horizon Research's HorizonPoll panel. Questions were part of an omnibus survey also covering other issues.
Lee et al. 2017	Suppose a person has a painful incurable disease. Do you think that doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life if the patient requests it?	66% support, 22% neutral/unsure, 12% oppose	15,822, nationally representative probability sample, Time 1 response rate = 16.6%. Retention rate in 2014 from Wave I = 57%, wave-to-wave retention from previous year = 82% (Sibley 2014).	Postal questionnaire, with a second postal follow-up. Participants who provided an email address were also emailed and invited to complete an online version if preferred.
Rae et al. 2015	At the moment, any form of assisted dying is illegal in New Zealand and anyone who assists another person to die can be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison. What do you think about the current legal situation in New Zealand with regards to assisted dying? A. The current law is too lenient. It should be more restrictive and penalties should be increased. B. The current ban on assisted dying is OK as it is. C. Some form of assisted dying should be legal in New Zealand with strict safeguards. D. All forms of assisted dying should be made legal to all New Zealanders.	82% support (C and D), 18% oppose (A and B)	677, weighted for representativeness, response rate 17%	Respondents were contacted by mail and requested to either complete and return an enclosed questionnaire or complete the same questionnaire online.
Research New Zealand, March and June 2015	Suppose a person has a painful incurable disease. Do you think that doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life if the patient requests it?	March: 74% support, 20% oppose, 6% don't know; June: 67% support, 24% oppose, 9% unsure	500, nationally representative	Telephone.
Curia 2015	Some people believe that the law should be changed to allow doctors to assist in ending the life of a person with an incurable illness, if the patient requests it. What is your view on whether voluntary euthanasia should be legal – strongly oppose, somewhat oppose, somewhat favour, strongly favour?	66% support, 20% oppose, 11% neutral, 2% unsure, 3% refused to answer the question	2782, does not state nationally representative	Telephone.
Colmar Brunton 2015	Do you think a terminally ill patient should be able to request a doctor's assistance to end their life?	75% support, oppose 21%, 5% unsure	1000, electoral roll	Telephone with randomly generated landline numbers.
Reid Research 2015	In June, Wellington woman Lecretia Seales died from terminal brain cancer while campaigning to change the law so that “assisted dying” or euthanasia was legal. Do you think the law should be changed to allow “assisted dying” or euthanasia?	71% support, 24% oppose, 5% unsure	1000, randomly generated phone numbers, weighted for representativeness	Telephone with randomly generated landline numbers.
Key Research 2013	Suppose a person has an incurable disease. Do you think that doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life if the patient requests it?	66% support, 17% oppose, 11% depends on situation, 5% unsure	500, randomly selected enrolled voters, weighted for representativeness	Telephone with randomly generated numbers.
Horizon 2012	In general, do you do support or oppose entitling all mentally competent adults in New Zealand to receive medical assistance in ending their life if they are suffering from a terminal illness or an irreversible physical or mental medical condition that in their view renders their life unbearable?	63% support, 12.3% oppose, 16% neutral 9% unsure	2969, weighted for representativeness	Online with members of Horizon Research's HorizonPoll panel. Questions were part of an omnibus survey also covering other issues.
Gendall 2009	Suppose a person has a painful incurable disease. Do you think that doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life if the patient requests it? Suppose a person has an incurable disease, but with medication is not in pain. Do you think that doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life if the person requests it? Suppose a person is not in pain and does not have an incurable disease but is permanently and completely dependent on others for all their physical needs. Do you think that doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life if the person requests it?	69% support, 19% oppose, 12% unsure 45% support, 39% oppose, 16% unsure 44% support, 39% oppose, 18% unsure	935, randomly selected from electoral roll, response rate 44%	Mail survey carried out as part of the International Social Survey Programme by Massey University.
Colmar Brunton 2008	Do you want the legal right to choose medically assisted death if you have an illness or condition from which there is no prospect of a return to an acceptable quality of life?	69% support, 21% oppose, 9% unsure 1% refused to answer	1000, area, age and gender quotas are set to ensure a representative, weighted to reflect nationwide population statistics in terms of gender, age and household size.	Telephone with randomly generated landline numbers.
Gendall 2008	Suppose a person has a painful incurable disease. Do you think that doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient's life if the patient requests it?	70% support, 17% oppose, 13% unsure	1000 randomly selected from electoral roll, 52% response rate.	Mail survey carried out as part of the International Social Survey Programme by Massey University.
Mitchell and Owens 2004	Patient B has a terminal illness (i.e. no hope of recovery), and pain is a constant problem, not alleviated by drugs. The doctor is requested by the patient to supply information on how to end one's life, and to prescribe enough drugs to make this possible. The doctor agrees to supply the information and drugs to the patient for the patient to use without the assistance of the doctor. IN YOUR OPINION, is the doctor justified in supplying information to this patient? IN YOUR OPINION, is the doctor justified in supplying drugs to this patient? Some time passes and Patient B deteriorates to the point where taking the drugs that the doctor has prescribed is impossible without assistance. The doctor assists by holding the drinking cup while the drugs are swallowed. IN YOUR OPINION, is the doctor's action in assisting the patient to take the drugs, justified? Patient B has difficulty swallowing and requests the doctor to administer a lethal injection to end the suffering. The doctor administers a lethal injection IN YOUR OPINION, is the action of the doctor in giving the patient a lethal injection justified? Respondents were also asked to comment on whether, in their understanding, the action was legal.	Supplying Information: Students 65% Greypower members 80% General Practitioners (GPs) 50% Supplying drugs: Students 56% Greypower members 77% GPs 41% Assisting: Students 64% Greypower members 77% GPs 34% Injecting: Students 62% Greypower members 76% GPs 30%	800 lay people (595 Greypower members, 30% RR; 205 students, 80% RR). 120 GPs, 40% RR.	Participants were sought by mail from Greypower and GPs; and in lectures from students (no enticement offered).
Beautrais et al. 2004	I am in favour of euthanasia (mercy killing) under certain circumstances	82% agree, other responses not supplied	987, birth cohort, 79% of original cohort	Cohort members were interviewed face-to-face.
Colmar Brunton 2003	Parliament will soon consider a Private Member's Bill on the issue of euthanasia in New Zealand. The bill would allow a person who is terminally and/or incurably ill to request the assistance of a medical practitioner to end their life earlier. A national referendum would need to be held before this change could be passed into law. Do you personally believe this bill should become law?	73% support, 22% oppose, 5% unsure	1007	Telephone with randomly generated landline numbers.
Gendall 2002	Suppose a person has a painful incurable disease. Do you think that doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient’s life if the patient requests it?	73% support, 17% oppose, 10% unsure	1000 randomly selected from electoral roll, 60% response rate.	Mail survey carried out as part of the International Social Survey Programme by Massey University.

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