"Death with Dignity" Measure Signed in Vermont

Vermont has become the fourth state, in addition to Oregon, Washington, and Montana, to grant people with terminal illness the right to request an assisted death from doctors:

With the strokes from three gubernatorial pens, Vermont on Monday became the fourth state in the country to allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill patients.

Gov. Peter Shumlin signed the measure in a state House ceremony in Montpelier, capping a decade-long effort on the issue in Vermont.

..."This historic achievement is a political breakthrough that will boost support for death-with-dignity bills nationwide," said Compassion & Choices President Barbara Coombs Lee. The group describes itself as the nation's leading advocacy group for end-of-life decisions.

The law, which went into effect Monday, allows for an end-of-life procedure with the consent of a patient's doctor after the patient has made more than one request for help in ending life. The bill also stipulates that the patient has a chance to retract the request.

Under the bill, a qualifying patient must be at least 18 years old, a Vermont resident and suffering from an "incurable and irreversible disease," with less than six months to live. Two physicians, including the prescribing doctor, must make that medical determination. The patient must also be told of other end-of-life services, "including palliative care, comfort care, hospice care, and pain control," according to the bill.

I fervently hope that Barbara Coombs Lee is right that legislation giving people greater choice over their end-of-life decisions will increase in popularity nationwide. I would certainly like to have this choice available to me, when and if I need it.

If you're interested in learning more about assisted death laws in the US, the documentary How to Die in Oregon is an excellent resource.