title: Who favors legalizing physician-assisted suicide? The vote on Michigan's Proposal B.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Political Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. jstrate@wayne.edu.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strate
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiska
authors.forename: Marvin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zalman
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D008824:Michigan; D011057:Politics; D011639:Public Opinion; D012067:Religion; D012737:Sex Factors; D012945:Social Values; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*