1. CATEGORY 1: Assessing student moral opinions on the topic

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

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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