CATEGORY 1: Assessing student moral opinions on the topic

Euthanasia is morally wrong no matter what the circumstances. 1.Agree 2.Disagree

Passive euthanasia—the act of withholding or withdrawing measures necessary for sustaining life—is sometimes morally acceptable. 1.Agree 2.Disagree

Active, voluntary euthanasia—taking a direct action to end someone’s life at his or her request or per his or her instructions—is sometimes morally acceptable. 1.Agree 2.Disagree

Physician-assisted suicide—the taking of one’s own life with the help of a doctor—is morally wrong no matter what the circumstances. 1.Agree 2.Disagree

A general rule (such as a policy or law) permitting some types of euthanasia would do more harm than good to society as a whole. 1.Agree 2.Disagree

The law should allow doctors to comply with the wishes of a dying patient who asks to have his or her life ended. 1.Agree 2.Disagree

CATEGORY 2: Assessing student assumptions about and knowledge of the issue

The official position of the American Medical Association, the main professional group for physicians, is that “physician-assisted suicide is unethical and fundamentally inconsistent with the pledge physicians make to devote themselves to healing and life.” a.True b.False

Physician-assisted suicide is legal in which of the following states? a.Oregon b.Oregon and New York c.New York and California d.none of the above

Passive voluntary euthanasia—the act of refusing on your own behalf any kind of medical treatment—is legal throughout the United States. a.True b.False

The “whole brain” definition of death (which stipulates that an individual is dead when all brain functions, including those performed in the brain stem, have stopped) is the standard in both medicine and law for determining death. a.True b.False

In a 2005 Harris poll of 1,010 adults in the United States, 67 percent of respondents said that they oppose a law in their home state that would legalize doctor-assisted suicide. a.True b.False