Vermont Votes to Legalize Doctor Assisted Suicide

Vermont has voted to approve a bill that will allow for a physician to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients who demonstrate that they are mentally capable to make such a decision.

Vermont will become the fourth state to legalize doctor assisted suicide; Oregon, Washington and Montana have preceded Vermont in doing so, according to The New York Times. Vermont is the first state to do so through legislation as opposed to through public referendum (Oregon, Washington) or court order (Montana).

The Vermont bill contains many safeguards to ensure that patients aren't making a spur of the moment decision to end their lives. According to Reuters, the safeguards include mandating the patient request the lethal drugs twice with 15 days separating the requests. The primary care doctor and a consulting doctor must agree that the patient is terminally ill and mentally competent to request the drugs. The Vermont law also stipulates that the patient must administer the drugs to themselves.

"I am grateful that the legislature had such a thoughtful, respectful debate on this deeply personal issue," said Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin. "We will now offer Vermonters who face terminal illness at the end of life a choice to control their destiny and avoid unnecessary suffering. I believe this is the right thing to do."

Shumlin is expected to sign the bill into law once the text is reviewed, according to Reuters.

Kathryn Tucker, director of legal affairs for Compassion and Choices, spoke in the legislature in favor of the bill. Tucker told The New York Times that it had been a hard fight to pass the bill in the Vermont legislature.

"You saw a real tension between legislators who wanted to ensure freedom of choice on this enormously personal issue and, on the other side, legislators reluctant to bring government into the practice of medicine," Tucker said.

Michael Sirotkin, a lobbyist for Patient Choices Vermont, has been campaigning for a death-with-dignity story for years, says that the End of Life Choice Bill is "very big for terminally ill Vermonters who, despite the best medical and palliative care, still suffer greatly in their final days."

"Some people get to the point where they lose their autonomy, they lose their dignity, and they suffer physically or existentially, and feel they want a better death than the one offered to them now," Sirotkin said.

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