Vermont about to become 4th state with aid-in-dying law

MONTPELIER, VT.Vermont is poised to join three other states permitting doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients after the state House approved a compromise bill similar to Oregon’s 1997 law.

The bill, approved on Monday, now goes before Gov. Peter Shumlin, a strong supporter of the legislation. It marks the first time a state has granted legislative approval to such a measure.

By a 75-65 roll call vote, the House concurred with a Senate version of the bill that largely mirrors the Oregon law for three years and then shifts to a system with less government monitoring.

The vote was a reversal of the defeat of similar legislation in the House in 2007.

Critics continued to voice their concerns during House debate on Monday, while supporters, who knew they had the votes to pass the bill, were more muted.

“There is potential here for abuse of the disabled,” said Rep. Carolyn Branagan, R-Georgia, “especially disabled elders,” she said. “This is not medical care. It is the opposite.”

Sen. Richard McCormack, D-Windsor, watched the debate from the House gallery. “This bill makes no judgment about the value of anybody’s life,” he said after the vote. “It makes a very positive judgment about the value of personal freedom and the right to make one’s own choices.”

 

CBS News has the full article

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