The passage of this bill is considered “the most historic event” of Vermont’s 2013 legislative session.
Monday night the Vermont House passed a bill that, if signed by Governor Peter Shumlin, will “allow doctors to provide lethal medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their own lives.” According to the Associated Press, this marks the first time a state legislature in the US has “seen such a measure all the way to passage,” and will make Vermont the 4th state in the nation that would allow doctors to do so.
The legislation, which basically copies the Oregon law passed by voters of that state in 1997, was passed through the Vermont House by a roll call vote of 75-65. The biggest difference between the Oregon legislation and the measure passed in Vermont is that after three years, the system in Vermont will shift to a model with significantly less governmental oversight. The changes would require “less monitoring and reporting by physicians,” and were included in the bill after several Vermont Senators complained of “too much government intervention in the Oregon system.” The bill was already passes through the Senate by a 17-13 vote.
Dick Walters, president of the Patient Choices-Vermont said, “”It’s an important step for terminally ill Vermont patients. It’s a big step forward for the region and for the country as a whole.” And Senator Richard McCormack, who watched the House debate from the gallery said, “This bill makes no judgment about the value of anybody’s life. It makes a very positive judgment about the value of personal freedom and the right to make one’s own choices.”
Photo: AP File/Toby Talbot