Death and Dying

72% of Americans believe in heaven, while 58% believe in hell.

Two-thirds of Americans say doctors should be allowed by law to assist patients who are terminally ill and living in severe pain to commit suicide.

The Uniform Law Commission, a body of lawyers who produce uniform legislation for states to adopt, recently drafted the “Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (FADA)," which would grant fiduciaries broad authority to access and control digital assets and accounts.

Americans aren't dying like they used to. They're living longer, and more are dying of natural causes. In 2010, nearly one-third of all deaths (31%) came from people ages 85 and older - a big improvement from 1968, when the 85+ age cohort made up just 12.6% of all deaths.

From the morality of suicide to personal preferences for end-of-life care.

In these summaries, religious leaders, scholars and ethicists from 16 major American religious groups explain how their faith traditions’ teachings address physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia and other end-of-life questions.

The Social, Legal and Political Dimensions of the End-of-Life Debate

Most Americans say there are circumstances in which doctors and nurses should allow a patient to die, but a growing minority says medical professionals always should do everything possible to save a patient’s life.

Most Americans say there are some circumstances in which doctors and nurses should allow a patient to die, but a growing minority says that medical professionals should do everything possible to save a patient’s life in all circumstances.

In recent years, legislatures and courts, religious leaders and scientists, citizens and patient advocates have all weighed in on end-of-life issues ranging from whether the terminally ill should have the right to take their own lives to how much treatment and sustenance those in the last stages of life should receive.