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Abstract

Since 2014, several states have introduced and passed legislation permitting aid in dying. In Colorado, Proposition 106, the End of Life Options Act, passed November 8, 2016, with 65% of Coloradans approving the law. The kind and tone of content newspapers include and omit regarding contentious issues like end-of-life legislation is important because these representations reflect and influence public opinion. This study found a relationship between item type and overall stance, as well as a difference in the content produced by journalists and laypersons or columnists.

Keywords

framing Colorado aid in dying newspapers quantitative analysis public opinion

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Newspaper coverage of Colorado’s 2016 End of Life Options Act

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