A new international study led by Emory University offers insight into how doctors across eight regions would want to be treated if they faced advanced cancer or Alzheimer’s disease—and whether they would consider assisted dying.
Published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, the study reveals that more than half of doctors would choose assisted dying for themselves under certain conditions, with preferences strongly influenced by whether their country or state allows it.
Researchers surveyed 1,157 doctors from countries and states with different laws around euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
These included Belgium, Italy, Canada, the U.S. states of Oregon, Wisconsin, and Georgia, and the Australian states of Victoria and Queensland.
The survey asked how doctors would respond to two end-of-life scenarios: having advanced cancer or Alzheimer’s disease. Doctors could choose from options like CPR, mechanical ventilation, feeding tubes, symptom relief, palliative sedation, physician-assisted suicide, or euthanasia.
Most doctors rejected life-prolonging treatments such as CPR (chosen by only 0.5% for cancer and 0.2% for Alzheimer’s) and mechanical ventilation (0.8% and 0.3%, respectively). Feeding tubes were slightly more accepted but still rare (3.5% and 3.8%).
Instead, the vast majority said they would prefer intensified symptom relief (94% for cancer and 91% for Alzheimer’s), which aims to ease pain and suffering rather than extend life.
Palliative sedation—using medication to deeply sedate someone until death—was considered a good option by about half of the doctors (59% for cancer, 50% for Alzheimer’s). Support for this option varied by region, from 39% in Georgia to 66% in Italy in the Alzheimer’s scenario.
Around half of all respondents said they would consider euthanasia a “good” or “very good” option for themselves (54% for cancer and 51.5% for Alzheimer’s), but responses varied widely depending on where the doctor lived.
In Belgium, where euthanasia has been legal since 2002, support was highest (81% for cancer and nearly 68% for Alzheimer’s). In contrast, only 38% of doctors in Italy and 37.5% in Georgia—a U.S. state with strong religious traditions—supported euthanasia for themselves.
Legislation played a major role in shaping views. Doctors in regions where euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are legal were three times more likely to consider euthanasia a good option in the cancer scenario and twice as likely in the Alzheimer’s scenario.
The researchers suggest this may be because doctors in these areas are more familiar with the procedures and have seen how they are used in real cases. Over time, what’s legally and clinically accepted becomes part of the medical culture—and part of doctors’ personal expectations.
Religion also had a strong influence. Non-religious doctors were far more likely to favor physician-assisted suicide (65% vs. 38%) and euthanasia (72% vs. 40%) than religious doctors.
While age, gender, and ethnicity had little impact on responses, the type of doctor did. Palliative care doctors were more likely to support palliative sedation, while general practitioners and other specialists were more open to euthanasia, assisted suicide, or using available medication to end their own lives.
Despite the study’s limitations—including that participants may have been more interested in end-of-life issues than the average doctor—the findings offer a revealing glimpse into what doctors might want for themselves if they were terminally ill. The researchers believe these insights should spark broader reflection on clinical practice.
Although many patients still receive aggressive life-prolonging treatments in their final days, most doctors in the study said they would avoid such measures if in the same situation. This contrast suggests that many physicians may feel moral discomfort about continuing treatments they wouldn’t choose for themselves.
In conclusion, doctors across diverse regions and cultures largely agree: when facing advanced illness, comfort and dignity matter more than extending life at any cost.
Legal, cultural, and personal values deeply shape these views, raising important questions about how end-of-life care is offered—not just to patients, but as a reflection of what physicians truly believe is humane and right.
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The research findings can be found in Journal of Medical Ethics.
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