After hearing hours of heartfelt testimony throughout the week, the Vermont Senate Health and Welfare Committee endorsed the Death with Dignity bill to move forward today.

The bill will now be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration. The Judiciary Committee will decide whether or not to allow the bill to move to the Senate floor for debate. According to news reports, the decision is expected to take place the week of February 11th.

Social movements like Death with Dignity are slow, ponderous behemoths, which seem to unexpectedly speed up. For 12 years, dedicated advocates in Vermont have been working toward enacting the first Death with Dignity law through the legislative process. And after a somewhat quiet period of building support, the last two years have seen major steps forward for the state. All the years of hard work are now coming to fruition at a rapid pace.

It's an exciting time for Death with Dignity, and we look forward to keeping you up to date with these and other states' legislative developments.

The Vermont lawmakers are expected to hear more than seven hours of testimony about Death with Dignity this week. Hearings began yesterday morning with the the Senate Health and Welfare Committee members listening to testimony by supporters including former Governor Madeleine Kunin and Attorney General William Sorrell about why a Death with Dignity law should be enacted in the state.

Quoted in VT Digger, Attorney General Sorrell said, "I think the right to make an informed decision about the end of your life when you are terminally ill and you have all of your faculties about you, the option to be able to make that choice is a simple one; I think it's a personal right. I think it's a hugely private right. And there are people I respect who oppose people having this opportunity, and they are entitled to those opinions."

Governor Kunin gave heartfelt testimony about her recent experience with her brother's death which only reaffirmed her commitment to supporting Death with Dignity legislation, "We have to respect the wishes of the dying person."

Social movements like Death with Dignity are slow, ponderous behemoths, which seem to unexpectedly speed up. For 12 years, dedicated advocates in Vermont have been working toward enacting the first Death with Dignity law through the legislative process. And after a somewhat quiet period of building support, the last two years have seen major steps forward for the state. All the years of hard work by our partners, Patient Choices Vermont, (watch their new video to the right) are now coming to fruition at a rapid pace.

The Vermont Senate Health and Welfare Committee began hearings to weigh the merits of the proposed Death with Dignity law this morning, and this evening at 5:00 pm ET, the Committee will hear public testimony about the proposed bill.

Written into Death with Dignity laws is the requirement the state's Health Department must issue annual reports of information collected during the medication request process.

Oregon's Public Health Division recently issued their 15th annual report, and consistent with all previous years, the data continue to show the law works the way it's intended: rarely used, but providing comfort to countless individuals who know they have options at the end of their lives.

Some quick facts about the usage of Oregon's law in 2012:

• 77 people hastened their deaths under the Oregon law.
• This accounts for 0.2% of all deaths in Oregon.
• The top three concerns people expressed to their doctors when requesting the medication were centered around wanting control over their final days.
• Of the end-of-life concerns expressed, the least common was "financial implications of treatment."

The numbers also show people who request the medication under Oregon's law are receiving high quality end-of-life care: