Content analysis of news coverage around failed medical aid in dying legislation highlights source use and framing effectiveness.
Newspaper coverage of medical aid in dying (MAID) in states that considered but did not pass such legislation commonly used frames of personal autonomy, protecting vulnerable sources, physician’s duty, and sanctity of life. Official sources were used most overall, but unofficial sources were dominant in news, briefs, and features and for the personal autonomy frame, which was dominant. The findings raise questions about the use of sources and effectiveness of news framing regarding legislative action.
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Lauffer et al. (2026) studied this question.
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