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The Vermont Study on Aid-in-Dying, 2016-2018 (ICPSR 37209)

Released/updated on: 2019-04-29

Geographic coverage: Vermont

Time period: 2016-07-01--2018-06-30

Legislative support for physician aid-in-dying (PAD) in the US has risen steadily in recent years. In May 2013, Vermont became the fourth state to legalize PAD, through the "Patient Choice and Control at End of Life" Act (Act 39). The law authorized physicians to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to a mentally competent, terminally ill, adult patient for the purpose of ending the patient's life. With ongoing legislative activities in many other states, these laws are expected to spread nationally. This shifting legislative climate raises questions about how societies respond to changes in the sociocultural and biopolitical organization of death. While social scientists have examined the social and political forces that shape 'right to die' movements and counter-movements, sanctioning the right to die is only the first step in institutionalizing PAD as a new cultural and medical practice. What happens once these rights are legally authorized?

The purpose of this study was to learn about how people in Vermont have been affected by Act 39. This 2-year ethnographic study (July 2016-June 2018) addressed the following overarching research questions:

How do ordinary people understand, access, experience, and contest the 'right to die' through PAD once it has been granted?
How do healthcare providers and policy stakeholders accommodate or resist PAD as a new end-of-life practice?
How does PAD affect the cultural landscape of care for the dying in the US?

Due to the recent enactment of Act 39, and Vermont's small size and the geographic proximity of key institutions, Vermont offered an ideal setting to explore these questions and document emergent responses to a new socio-legal phenomenon across multiple sites. By tracing the social life of Act 39 from the Vermont State House to the institutions, experts, and ordinary people responsible for managing death, this study yielded valuable information about the broad sociocultural consequences of legalizing PAD, including unintended consequences, that will be relevant to US policymakers, clinicians, patients, and families.

This collection includes semi-structured interviews with seriously ill Vermont patients, survivors of people who have used Act 39, healthcare providers and administrators, activists, and legislators, as well as participant observation in settings in which PAD is likely to be discussed. Participants were asked about their personal and professional backgrounds, attitudes on death and the legalization of PAD, understandings of the physician's role and responsibilities regarding end-of-life care, and interactions between healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers about PAD. The age, gender, and race of the participants are also provided.

Curated

CBS News/Vanity Fair Monthly Poll, October 2009 (ICPSR 30403)

Released/updated on: 2011-05-04

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2009-10-01--2009-10-31

This poll, fielded October 5-7, 2009, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way United States President Barack Obama was handling the presidency and issues such as the economy, foreign policy, health care, and the situations with Afghanistan and Iran. Opinions were solicited about the most important problem facing the country, the condition of the economy, and the way United States Congress was handling its job. Respondent's views about health care were sought and included their opinions about whether they believed the nation's health care system worked well, whether they approved of the way Democrats and Republicans in Congress were handling health care reform, their opinions of the tone of the health care debate, whether they thought health care reform would help or hurt them personally, and the likelihood Congress would pass and Obama would sign the health care reform bill into law by the end of 2009. Respondents were also asked several other questions about health care, including whether they favored the government offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan, whether they thought Democrats and Republicans were serious about reforming the health care system, and who the Democrats and Republicans were trying to help more in their health care reform proposals. Information was collected on the financial situation of the respondent's household, whether they had health insurance coverage, and the source of their insurance coverage. Additional topics addressed abortion, the war in Afghanistan, Iran's threat to the United States, opinions of cellular phones usage while driving, the swine flu, job security, assisted suicide, steroid use in professional sports, marijuana and prostitution legalization, the social networking Internet site Facebook, and the most useful technological advances of the past. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, marital status, household income, employment status, perceived social class, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status and participation history, religious preference, the presence of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 in the household, whether respondents had children under the age of 18 years, and whether they considered themselves to be a born-again Christian.

Curated

CBS News Polling America, March 17-19, 1991 (ICPSR 9865)

Released/updated on: 2009-11-19

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1991-03-17--1991-03-19

This general survey elicited opinions on a variety of topics including the Persian Gulf War, peace in the Middle East, paying more federal tax in order to accomplish certain objectives, and estimates of how many Americans cheat on their income tax. Those surveyed were also asked whether Japanese or American cars were a better value, and whether greater fuel efficiency or safety devices such as air bags would be preferred if the respondent was buying a new car and was able to spend an additional five hundred dollars on one of these features. Questions on economic matters probed for the likelihood of an adult in the respondent's family being out of work and actively looking for a job within the next 12 months, and the length of time the respondent could live on savings if the chief wage earner lost his/her job. Health and family issues focused on whether physician-assisted suicide should be allowed, whether the respondent would consider taking his/her life if stricken with a disease that would eventually destroy both mind and body, whether race should be a factor in adoption, the permanence of adoption, whether someone should consider marrying a person they are not in love with, and whether people get married with the expectation that their marriage will last forever. Additional questions pertained to professional baseball, the specific feature of his/her physical appearance that the respondent would change, and the respondent's perception of how he/she looks in a bathing suit. Background information includes marital status, employment, political party affiliation, education, age, race, and family income.

Curated

Detroit Area Study, 1999: Life and Death Decision Making (ICPSR 4121)

Released/updated on: 2009-09-02

Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan

Time period: 1999-01-01--1999-12-31

For this survey, respondents from three counties in the Detroit, Michigan, area were queried about their health, satisfaction with their health care, end of life decisions, policies about life and death decisions, and experiences with life and death decisions. The first set of questions asked respondents to rate their own health and to indicate whether they had seen a health care professional in the past five years as well as what type of health professional they had seen. They were also asked whether or not they trust the health care provider's judgment on medical decisions and whether they felt that a doctor or family members would follow the respondent's instructions for life sustaining procedures. The survey also explored how satisfied respondents were with the amount of time they spent with their doctor and the doctor's response to questions as well as their honesty and concern for their patient. Additional questions asked respondents how concerned HMO's are with costs and patient health and what their opinions were on how much money is spent on medical technology and care for terminally ill patients. Another set of questions sought respondent's opinions on terminating a patient's life support in a variety of different situations, including the treatment of critically ill infants. The survey also asked whether respondents or their family had ever experienced an end-of-life decision, whether they have discussed end-of-life decisions, and what types of methods they would consider. Respondents were also asked about their attitudes on the death penalty, abortion in certain situations, physician assisted suicide and the 1998 proposal to legalize physician assisted suicide. Background information includes marital status, employment, political orientation, and income.

Curated

CBS News Monthly Poll #2, July 2005 (ICPSR 4397)

Released/updated on: 2007-01-24

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2005-07-01--2005-07-31

This poll, conducted July 29-August 2, 2005, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of the way President George W. Bush was handling the presidency and issues such as foreign policy and Social Security. They were also asked to voice their concerns about what they viewed as the most important problem facing the country, to give their opinions of the condition of the national economy and the Republicans and Democrats in the United States Congress, and to rate how well Congress was doing its job. A series of questions addressed the success of the war against terrorism and the war in Iraq, whether the result of the war with Iraq was worth the costs, whether it was a part of the war on terrorism, the likelihood of another terrorist attack against the United States, and whether Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Several questions focused on the United States Supreme Court, Supreme Court Justice nominee John Roberts, the Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, how important it was that the Senate understood Roberts' position on abortion before voting on his confirmation, and whether Supreme Court justices should take public opinion and their own personal views into account when deciding cases. Views were also sought on White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and the recent investigation into the disclosure of the identity of an undercover Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent to news reporters, whether someone in the Bush Administration was responsible, and whether the leak was a mistake or part of a wider effort to discredit critics of the Bush Administration. Additional topics focused on immigration, NASA and the Space Shuttle, the death penalty, same-sex marriage, abortion, physician-assisted suicide, how often respondents watched network television news programs, and whether they felt that Democrats and Republicans shared their values and goals. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, religious affiliation, frequency of religious service attendance, education level, household income, marital status, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, for whom the respondent voted in the 2004 presidential election, whether there were children in the household, whether a member of the household was currently in college, and whether the respondent or a family member was serving in the United States armed forces.

Curated

CBS News Monthly Poll #3, March 2005 (ICPSR 4323)

Released/updated on: 2006-07-27

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2005-03-01--2005-03-31

This special topic poll is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions about the most important problems facing this country, abortion, who should have the ultimate decision about a feeding tube of a patient in a vegetative state, the Terri Schiavo case, the Schiavo case being sent to the United States Supreme Court, congressional and presidential involvement in the Schiavo case, government decisions on life support issues, reasons the Schiavo bill was passed, future involvement of Congress in the lives of United States citizens, and physician assisted suicide. Respondents were also asked their opinions about the president's handling of his job, the economy, and the situation in Iraq, as well as Congress's handling of its job. Other questions inquired about the respondents' following of the Schiavo case, the degree of the respondents' feelings toward issues related to the Schiavo case, their possession of a living will, respondents' religious service attendance, and views of themselves as evangelical Christians. Background information includes political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, which candidates they voted for in the 2004 presidential election, religion, age, race, education, marital status, income, and whether the respondents were parents.

Curated

CBS News/NEW YORK TIMES New York State Poll, February 2005 (ICPSR 4317)

Released/updated on: 2006-03-06

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2005-02-01--2005-02-28

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of the 2004 presidential election, the candidates, political parties, the way United States President George W. Bush was handling certain issues (such as the economy, the war in Iraq, and terrorism), and how they felt about Bush's next term. Respondents were also asked about their opinions of both George W. Bush (Republican) and John Kerry (Democrat) and which candidate they favored in the election. The survey also included questions about various issues of the campaign such as social security, tax cuts and tax rates, same-sex marriage, abortion, religion in schools and politics, pop culture and its influence, and physician assisted suicide. Background information on respondents includes union membership, military service, voter registration status, party identification, marital status, sex, religious preference, education record, age, ethnicity, and income.

Curated

CBS News/NEW YORK TIMES Monthly Poll #1, November 2004 (ICPSR 4230)

Released/updated on: 2005-12-06

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2004-11-18--2004-11-21

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of the 2004 presidential election, the candidates, political parties, the way George W. Bush was handling certain issues (such as the economy, the war in Iraq, and terrorism), and how they felt about Bush's next term. Respondents were also asked about their opinions of both George W. Bush and John Kerry and which candidate they favored in the election. The survey also included questions about various issues of the campaign such as social security, tax cuts and tax rates, same sex marriage, abortion, religion in schools and politics, pop culture and its influence, and physician assisted suicide. Background information on respondents includes union membership, military service, voter registration status, party identification, marital status, sex, religious preference, education record, age, ethnicity, income, and willingness for callback.

Curated

ABC News 'Nightline' Kosovo Poll #2, March 1999 (ICPSR 2768)

Released/updated on: 1999-08-20

Geographic coverage: United States

This special topic poll, fielded March 26, 1999, sought respondents' views on United States involvement in the Serbian region of Kosovo and the air strikes, launched March 24, 1999, by the United States and its European allies, against Serbia. Those queried were asked whether they possessed a sound understanding of the conflict, whether President Bill Clinton had handled the situation appropriately, and whether America's vital interests were at stake in Kosovo. Respondents were asked whether they supported the air strikes against Serbia, whether they believed reports that the bombing had actually increased the attacks on Kosovar civilians by the Serbian forces, and whether peace in Kosovo was worth the loss of American soldiers' lives. An additional question addressed the March 26, 1999, conviction of Dr. Jack Kevorkian of second-degree murder, for causing the death of a terminally ill patient who asked for his assistance. The results of the poll were announced on the ABC television program "Nightline." Background information on respondents includes sex and political party.