It all depends on the character:
If I've really enjoyed playing him/her and want to continue to do so, I would seriously consider being Raised.
If I've had a "better idea" then I might change character.
In one game I had a rather nice Rogue who unfortunately died 3 times. The first 2 were down to doing something daft so I didn't want to accept it and took the Raising. The third time I lost all my CON to a particularly nasty poison (Wyvern) by doing something REALLY stupid and took it as a big hint.
His replacement, a Paladin of sorts, has recently had a near Death (from the wrong side) incident and the DM allowed a choice between 1 Level or 2 CON.
I was all for changing character (I've had several "good ideas") but there was a very good in-game reason for going back, so I took the CON loss and breathed again.
You may have a good back-up character (albeit a level lower one) but you may also be missing out on the future adventures of that character. Not to mention the effect on the campaign.
For example, the Paladin and nominal leader of the party dies. His player chooses to change to a low-Charisma Chaotic Rogue with larcenous tendencies. The party has lost its 'leader', which could affect the game, and had him replaced by a character who is unlikely to play well in a group.
OK, depends if the player actually plays as a different character or if all his characters are basically the same with different stats.
Ramble over.
