title: [Medical students' attitudes towards legalisation of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We wished to investigate prevailing attitudes among future doctors regarding legalisation of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. This issue is important, since any legalisation of these practices would confer a completely new role on doctors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Attitudes were identified with the aid of a questionnaire-based survey among medical students in their 5th and 6th year of study in the four Norwegian medical schools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Altogether 531 students responded (59.5% of all students in these cohorts). Of these, 102 (19%) were of the opinion that euthanasia should be legalised in the case of terminal illness, 164 (31%) responded that physician-assisted suicide should be permitted for this indication, while 145 (28%) did not know. A minority of the respondents would permit euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in other situations. Women and those who reported that religion was important to them were less positive than men to permitting euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In most of the situations described, the majority of the students in this survey rejected legalisation. Opinions are more divided in the case of terminal illness, since a larger proportion is in favour of legalisation and more respondents are undecided.
authors.forename: Magnus Andreas
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nordstrand
authors.forename: Sven Jakob
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Nordstrand
authors.forename: Lars Johan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Materstvedt
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nortvedt
authors.forename: Morten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Magelssen
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012737:Sex Factors; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires