Vermont Death with Dignity Act

Death with Dignity Update, Dec. 9, 2009

End-of-Life Care and Pain Management is the subject of Act 25. It was passed by both houses and signed by Governor Douglas in May 2009. Identical bills -- Senate bill S.144 and House bill H.455 -- introduced in April 2009, propose Aid-in-Dying legislation which will bring the Oregon Death with Dignity Act to Vermont and will:

- Guarantee that all adult Vermonters have a full range of legal end-of-life choices

- Assure that mentally-competent persons who are terminally ill have the right to choose the manner and timing of death

- Allow a terminally ill, mentally-competent person to avoid the pain of a prolonged dying process by self-administering legally prescribed medication

Whether or not terminal medication is actually taken by an individual, the fact that he/she has control of his/her life is the comfort that is now lacking.

History
House Bill 168 (the Vermont Death with Dignity Act) was introduced in 2005 by Representatives Malcolm Severance, William Aswad and David Zuckerman and received its first reading on February 4, 2005. It currently resides in the House Human Services Committee, and sources are hopeful HB168 will clear the Judiciary Committee and receive a full House vote before the current legislative session ends around the first week in May. Read HB168.

Death with Dignity Vermont (DWD-Vermont)is a not-for-profit, independent political action organization based in Vermont. DWD-Vermont works as a team with End-of-Life Choices Vermont, a grassroots organization, to realize their goal of effecting legislation in Vermont similar to the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. You can reach Death with Dignity Vermont at 802-985-9473 or by visiting their website www.patientchoices.org.

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Read "Vermonter's Deserve End-of-Life Options" -- an editorial by Vermont physician H. Carmer Van Buren, MD (May 18, 2006)

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Supporters in Vermont Bolstered by Court Ruling
by John Zicconi, Vermont Press Bureau
The Barre Montpelier Times-Argus, 1/18/2006

MONTPELIER — Supporters of a Vermont law [HB168] to legalize physician-assisted suicide were elated by the U.S. Supreme Court decision Tuesday [January 17, 2006] rejecting a federal bid to block Oregon's law.

They predicted the decision would buoy efforts to pass a similar law in this state.

The House Human Services Committee in March is scheduled to discuss a bill that would make Vermont the second state in the nation to legalize the controversial practice.

"I'm absolutely delighted with the Supreme Court's decision," said Dr. David Babbott, a retired internist and a spokesman for Death with Dignity Vermont. "It is a huge momentum builder for Vermont."

Committee members agreed, and plan to step up their efforts to pass legislation.

"The court's decision is absolutely a boost," said Rep. Sandy Haas, P-Rochester. "We are working to make our bill a better law than the Oregon law when it comes to both real and perceived safeguards."

Oregon's eight-year-old assisted-suicide law allows doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients. The Bush administration opposed the law, arguing that hastening death with medication violates federal drug provisions.

The Supreme Court rejected the administration's arguments by a 6-3 margin, ruling that states have the right to make their own laws regarding end-of-life care.

"I'm happy the Supreme Court recognized a state's right to move forward," said Rep. Michael Fisher, D-Lincoln and vice chairman of the Human Services Committee

Local Democratic leaders who control both the House and the Senate, however, said it is unlikely that the Vermont Legislature will pass an assisted suicide bill this year.

Approving something that complicated requires review from several legislative committees, which is unlikely to happen in the short time remaining before lawmakers adjourn this spring, they said.

"I'm very reluctant to suggest we will find time to take on an issue of that significance," said Rep. William Lippert, D-Hinesburg, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that must review the bill before it can be sent to the House floor for consideration.

Criminal justice issues are dominating the Judiciary Committee's agenda, including what to do about a judge's controversial decision that sentenced a child molester to serve a minimum of 60 days in jail.

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Welch, D-Windsor, said the House Judiciary Committee must approve the assisted-suicide bill in early March to give the Senate time to consider it, something that is unlikely to happen.

Supporters of assisted suicide said they would be happy just to have the Human Services Committee approve a bill. That alone is an important step and would give the issue tremendous momentum heading into an election year, they said.

"If it takes patience to move this process forward for Vermont, then we have patience," Babbott said. "If it takes persistence, we have persistence."

A recent poll indicates more than 75 percent of Vermonters favor doctor-assisted suicide, but many health care organizations — like the Vermont Medical Society, the Vermont State Nurses Association and the Coalition for Disability Rights — oppose legislation.

Republican Gov. James Douglas also opposes the measure, which allows physicians to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to terminally ill patients with fewer than six months to live.

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