March 25, 2005

Majority Support Decision to Remove Terri Schiavo's Feeding Tube and Question Congressional Intervention

By Mark Schulman and Tara Regan

A clear majority of Americans (59%) agree with the decision of the Florida courts to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, according to this week's Time poll. Only about one-third (34%) disagree with the decision.

Large majorities of Americans believe that it was wrong for Congress (75% wrong - 20% right) and President Bush (70% wrong - 24% right) to intervene in the Schiavo case. Even large majorities of Republicans, 68%, say it was wrong for Congress to intervene.

Bush Job Rating Down
In the wake of the Schiavo case, President Bush's job rating had now dipped to 48% approve - 46% disapprove, down 5 points from last week. While the Schiavo case might have contributed to the decline, the Time Poll identifies other possible culprits, including record low ratings on Bush's handling of Social Security issues, down 6 points, to 31% approve - 58% disapprove. Even Bush’s handling of terrorism, long a core Bush strength, is down 11 points from last week, to 52% approve, 43% disapprove.

The poll finds some possible political fallout as well from the Congressional intervention. More than half (54%) would go as far as to say that they would be more likely to vote against their Congressman if he or she voted to move the Schiavo case to the federal courts.

Schiavo Battle Polarizes Americans
The dramatic legal battle over the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube after being in a coma-like "persistent vegetative state" for 15 years has taken center stage in the past two weeks. About 3 in 4 Americans (76%) say that they have been following the case closely.

Both sides are polarized:

• More than two in five (44%) agree strongly with the decision to remove the feeding tube with only 15% agreeing somewhat.

• About a quarter (24%) disagree strongly, with only 11% disagreeing somewhat.

Agree/Disagree with Decision to Remove Terri Schiavo's Feeding Tube
	Total	Attend worship once a week or more	Attend worship less than once a week	Never attend
Agree	59%	48%	64%	73%
Agree   strongly	44%	32%	48%	59%
Agree   somewhat	15%	16%	16%	14%
Disagree	34%	45%	32%	19%
Disagree   strongly	24%	32%	22%	11%
Disagree   somewhat	11%	13%	9%	8%
Don't know	7%	7%	4%	8%

Do Parents and the Federal Government Have the Right to Intervene?
In the tug of war between Schiavo's parents and her husband over who should have custody to determine her fate, only 39% say that Schiavo's parents should be allowed to overrule the wishes of her husband as legal guardian to remove the tube. A majority, 54%, say that her parents do not have the right to overrule the wishes of her husband.

Many Americans question the motives of the federal government in intervening. About two-thirds (65%) think that Congress and the President's intervention was rooted more in politics than in values and principles.

Congressional/Presidential Intervention: Values or Politics?
	Total	Republican	Democrat	Independent
More to do with values	25%	44%	13%	24%
More to do with politics	65%	46%	78%	68%

What If This Happened to You?
What if you were in a similar situation as Schiavo's husband? A majority (55% - 34%) say they would remove her feeding tube if they were her guardian. An even greater majority (69%-24%) say they would want their guardian to remove the feeding tube if they were in Terri's place. One of the reasons why this case has captivated the public is that many feel strongly about their decision:

• About two-in-five (41%), say they are "absolutely sure" they would remove the feeding tube as Terri's guardian. A majority (61%) are "absolutely sure" they would want their guardian to remove the feeding tube if they were in Terri’s place.

• About one-quarter (23%) are "absolutely sure" they would NOT remove the feeding tube as Terri's guardian. A little less than one-in-five (17%), are "absolutely sure" they would NOT want their feeding tube removed by their guardian.

As Terri's Guardian, Would You Remove Her Feeding Tube?
	Total	Attend worship once a week or more	Attend worship less than once a week	Never attend
Yes, would remove	55%	46%	59%	67%
Absolutely   sure	41%	32%	43%	56%
Somewhat   sure	14%	14%	16%	11%
No, would not remove	34%	44%	31%	24%
Absolutely   sure	23%	31%	20%	13%
Somewhat   sure	11%	12%	11%	10%
Don't know	10%	11%	10%	9%

If You Were Terri, Would You Want Feeding Tube Removed?
	Total	Attend worship once a week or more	Attend worship less than once a week	Never attend
Yes, would remove	69%	59%	72%	82%
Absolutely   sure	61%	50%	65%	74%
Somewhat   sure	8%	9%	7%	8%
No, would not remove	24%	32%	22%	13%
Absolutely   sure	17%	23%	15%	8%
Somewhat   sure	7%	9%	7%	5%
Don't know	8%	9%	6%	5%

"Million Dollar Baby" Quandary
Two-thirds of Americans (67%) say would choose death over life if they were seriously injured but conscious, and had to rely on a ventilator or breathing tube to survive. A majority (67%-23%) would want the breathing tube removed. Clint Eastwood's recent Oscar-winning movie, "Million Dollar Baby," presented just such a dilemma.

Slim Majority Favor Assisted-Suicide Law
A slim majority (52% - 41%) favor legislation allowing physician assisted suicide. Oregon is currently the only state that allows a terminally-ill adult to request a physician to administer a lethal dose of medication to end their life.

Religion's Role: Frequent Worshippers Evenly Divided
The Schiavo case finds only a limited cultural/religious divide. Those who attend worship once a week or more are evenly divided (48% agree - 45% disagree) with the decision to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. By contrast, those who rarely or never attend religious services agree with the decision to remove by a lopsided 73% - 19%.

• A majority of frequent worshipers, 56% - 33%, say intervention by Congress and the President was politically motivated, compared to 75% - 19% of non-worshipers.

• Frequent worshipers do disagree with the Oregon law allowing physician assisted suicide (59% disagree - 33% agree), while a majority of non-worshipers (25% disagree - 71% agree) agree with this law.

Public Now More Aware of Living Wills
A vast majority (93%) have heard of the term "living will." About one-third (37%) say that they have one. However, this number seems inflated compared to other estimates. The Schiavo case has sparked interest in such health care declarations-69% who say that do not currently have a living will have thought about drafting one or discussing their wishes with family in response to the case.

Do You Have a Living Will?
	Total	18-34	35-54	55 or older
Yes	37%	21%	36%	53%
No	62%	79%	63%	47%

Methodology

This Time Magazine poll was conducted by telephone March 22-24, 2005 among a random sample of 1,010 adults, age 18 and older throughout America.

The margin of error for the entire sample is approximately +/-3 percentage points. The margin of error is higher for subgroups. Surveys are subject to other error sources as well, including sampling coverage error, recording error, and respondent error.

Schulman, Ronca, & Bucuvalas (SRBI) Public Affairs designed the survey and conducted all interviewing. The full Time questionnaire and trend data may be found in the related links below.

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Related Links

• Time Magazine/SRBI Survey Questionnaire and Frequencies