Friday, October 31, 2003
By Dana Blanton
Three times as many Americans think Terri
Schiavo's feeding tube should be removed as think it should remain and �
if in her place � most Americans say they would prefer the tube be
removed.
When asked to consider what action
they would take if they were Schiavo's guardian, a 61 percent majority
says they would remove her feeding tube and 22 percent would keep the
tube inserted, according to the latest FOX News national poll conducted
by Opinion Dynamics Corporation.
Terri Schiavo (search ) is the Florida woman who has been in a
"persistent vegetative state" since 1990. Schiavo's husband, who
believes his wife would rather die than be kept alive artificially, is
currently in a heated legal battle against her parents. Terri's parents
believe she could still recover and want the feeding tube to remain.
After Schiavo's feeding tube had been removed for several days, it was
recently re-inserted by an order from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
"It seems clear that if the governor and the Florida
Legislature passed the law and ordered the tube replaced for political
motives, as some of their critics have charged, then they miscalculated
the politics," comments Opinion Dynamics President John
Gorman (search ). "On every important point of the dispute,
the public agrees with Mr. Schiavo and the courts that have ruled on
this matter."
Majorities of young Americans and seniors, men and
women would remove the feeding tube in Schiavo's case and would want it
removed if they were in a similar circumstance. Self-described
conservatives are less likely than liberals to support removing
Schiavo's feeding tube, but still a majority of conservatives supports
removal (56 percent to 70 percent among liberals).
Half of Americans believe the spouse should be the
decision maker in right-to-die cases, while just under a third say the
parents or other family members should be the ones to decide. Hardly any
think the decision should be left to the government (two percent) or to
the patient's doctor (four percent).
Polling was conducted by telephone October 28-29,
2003 in the evenings. The sample is 900 registered voters nationwide
with a margin of error of �3 percentage points.
1. If a patient has been in what doctors call a
�persistent vegetative� or a coma-like state with no higher brain
activity for a significant amount of time, who do you think should make
the decision whether the patient should be kept alive or not?
1. The person�s
parents
or other family members |
31% |
| 2. The person�s spouse |
50 |
| 3. The government |
2 |
| 4. (The person�s
doctor) |
4 |
| 5. (Not sure) |
13
|
2. Terri Schiavo has been in a so-called
�persistent vegetative state� since 1990. Her eyes sometimes open, but
doctors say she has no consciousness. Terri�s husband says his wife
would rather die than be kept alive artificially and wants her feeding
tube removed. Terri�s parents believe she could still recover and want
the feeding tube to remain. If you were Terri�s guardian, what would you
do?
SCALE: 1. Would you remove the feeding tube 2. Or would you keep
the feeding tube inserted? 3. (Not sure)
|
Remove |
Keep |
(NS) |
| TOTAL ANSWER |
61% |
22 |
17 |
| Female |
62% |
20 |
18 |
| Male |
60% |
25 |
15 |
| Age 18-34 |
64% |
25 |
11 |
| 35-50 |
57% |
26 |
17 |
| 51-59 |
66% |
17 |
17 |
| 60-70 |
67% |
18 |
15 |
| Over 70 |
60% |
17 |
22 |
| Democrat |
68% |
20 |
13 |
| Republican |
56% |
26 |
17 |
| Independent |
58% |
19 |
23 |
| Liberal |
70% |
18 |
13 |
| Moderate |
61% |
24 |
15 |
| Conservative |
56% |
26 |
18
|
3. If you were in Terri Schiavo�s place, what
would you want your guardian to do? Would you have your guardian:
| 1. Remove the feeding tube
or |
74% |
| 2. Keep the feeding tube
inserted? |
16 |
| 3. (Not sure) |
10
| | 
