The Difference Between Blacks’ and Whites’ Attitudes Toward Voluntary Euthanasia

Researchers have consistently found blacks are more opposed to legalizing voluntary euthanasia than are whites. Theories attribute the difference to either a difference between the 2 groups’ levels of fundamentalism or to a difference between the 2 groups’ levels of fear regarding giving others the power to end one’s life. Data from the General Social Survey & the Ohio Death & Dying Survey were used to examine to what extent these 2 variables along with socioeconomic status & political conservatism account for blacks’ greater opposition to legalizing euthanasia. An exploratory structural equation model suggested all 4 variables were important in explaining the differences found between the two groups. (40 refs.)