Assessing Right to Die Attitudes: A Conceptually Guided Measurement Model.

The article presents a conceptually guided measurement model in assessing right to die attitudes. It discusses the current status of research regarding the assessment of attitudes toward euthanasia and other right to die constructs with a focus on conceptual and methodological issues hindering advancement in this area. Two models are presented: a conceptual model for differentiating the various right to die constructs, and a measurement model to guide scale development and refinement. The conceptual model defines the right to die constructs as a fraction of locus of decision and locus of action. The past two decades in the United States have seen a dramatic increase in concern regarding the moral. ethical, legal, and economic issues related to the right to die and, more specifically, euthanasia. A primary theoretical issue regarding the right to die debate is related to the confusing and uneasy conceptual relationships between the constructs of euthanasia, voluntary euthanasia, involuntary euthanasia, active euthanasia, passive euthanasia, assisted suicide, rational suicide, suicide, and homicide.