Vermont becomes first state to remove residency requirement from assisted suicide law
Vermont on Tuesday became the first U.S. state to change its medically assisted suicide law to allow nonresidents to use it.
Last year, Oregon stopped enforcing the residency requirement for its assisted suicide law as part of a settlement, but the state legislature has not amended the law yet.
Prior to removing the requirement on Tuesday, Vermont had similarly reached an agreement with a terminally ill Connecticut women to allow her to receive lethal medication in the state, so long as she complies with the other aspects of the law.
“We are grateful to Vermont lawmakers for recognizing that a state border shouldn’t determine if you die peacefully or in agony,” Kim Callinan, president and CEO of nonprofit organization Compassion & Choices, said in a statement. “Patients routinely travel to other states to utilize the best healthcare options. There is no rational reason they shouldn’t be able to travel to another state to access medical aid in dying if the state they live in doesn’t offer it.”
Currently 12 states, including New Jersey and California, offer medical aid in dying (MAID) in some form. New York’s legislature introduced a bill in January but does not currently allow medically assisted suicide.
Under the Vermont law, the patient must be a terminally ill adult who is capable of making the decision and speaking about it with their physician. However, the process is voluntary for patients and healthcare providers and there is not a publicly available list of providers.
Patients are required to make two oral requests over a set timeframe and then submit a written request with two or more witnesses. The witnesses must then attest that the patient understands the document and did not submit it under duress.
Diana Barnard, a physician from Middlebury, and her patient Lynda Bluestein, 75, of Bridgeport, Conn., sued Vermont last summer, claiming the MAID residency requirement violated the Constitution’s commerce, equal protection, and privileges and immunities clauses.
“I thank Vermont lawmakers for repealing the residency requirement for medical aid in dying for the sake of all of my out-of-state patients,” Barnard said in a statement. “I know they will be greatly relieved to have access to this end-of-life care option, whether they decide to use it or not.”
Critics claim the new law will make Vermont an assisted-suicide tourism destination.
With News Wire Services
