Physician-Assisted Suicide: Is Vermont Next?

The State Legislature of Vermont may reconsider the issue of physician-assisted suicide in the upcoming session, the Brattleboro Reformer reports. A "Death with Dignity" bill, which would have allowed doctors to help terminally ill patients die, was introduced in the last session. Sponsored by a variety of representatives from all political parties, the bill never made it out of committee. Supporters of the bill have pledged to reintroduce the bill this month and continue seeking support for it. Dr. Robert Orr, president of the Vermont Alliance for Ethical Health Care and bioethicist at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vermont, testified against the bill in front of the legislative committee last fall: "It's not needed...We can do an adequate job of taking care of people at the end of life." The debate promises to continue and cross party lines. Currently, Oregon is the only state that has legalized physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. -- Linda Glenn