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Who Favors Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide? The Vote on Michigan's Proposal B

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

John Strate ,
Timothy Kiska  and
Marvin Zalman
John Strate*
Affiliation:
Wayne State University, USA
Timothy Kiska
Affiliation:
University of Michigan—Dearborn, USA
Marvin Zalman
Affiliation:
Wayne State University, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to Department of Political Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA (e-mail: jstrate@wayne.edu).
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Abstract

At the November 1998 general election, Michigan citizens were given the opportunity to vote on Proposal B, an initiative that would have legalized physician-assisted suicide (PAS). PAS initiatives also have been held in Washington State, California, Oregon, and Maine, with only Oregon's passing. We use exit poll data to analyze the vote on Proposal B. Attributes associated with social liberalism—Democratic Party identification, less frequent church attendance, more education, and greater household income—led to increased odds of a “yes” vote. Attributes associated with social conservatism—Republican Party identification and frequent church attendance—led to decreased odds of a “yes” vote. Similar to the abortion issue, PAS's supporters strongly value personal autonomy, whereas its opponents strongly value the sanctity of life. Voter alignments like those in Michigan will likely appear in other states with the initiative process if PAS reaches their ballots.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , September 2001 , pp. 155 - 163
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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