7 in 10 NH people want medical aid in dying option First ever poll shows support across all faiths, parties, regions
Seven out of 10 Granite Staters (71 percent) support medical aid-in-dying legislation to give terminally ill adults in New Hampshire the legal option to take prescription medication to gently end intolerable suffering, while only about one out of six residents (17 percent) oppose the bill.
Those are among the findings of the first-ever state poll on the issue of 1,130 residents, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Oct. 19-23, and released at a news conference Wednesday, Jan. 31.. A demographic summary of the results is at the bottom of this news release and posted at
https://bit.ly/NHPollmedicalaidindying
The news conference also announced the public launch of the grassroots campaign by the NH Alliance for End of Life Options to pass medical aid-in-dying legislation, the bipartisan NHEnd of Life Options Act, which has 10 sponsors.
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the NH End of Life Options Act (HB1283) on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. at the Legislative Office Building in Concord, next to the State House. More than 450 people already had submitted online testimony as of Jan. 31.
“This survey shows strong support for this compassionate legislation, regardless of political persuasion, religion, or the region of the state,” said Rebecca Brown, a Sugar Hill resident and director of the NH Alliance for End of Life Options, which sponsored the poll. “It also shows majority support of gun owners, people living with disabilities, and Gov. Sununu’s supporters. It is a crystal clear signal to the Legislature that the overwhelming majority of their constituents want them to show love and compassion for their dying ones, so they can avoid needless suffering and die peacefully in their sleep, as most people want.”