Vermont passes law allowing doctor-assisted suicide [View all]
Source: Reuters
By Jason McLure
Mon May 20, 2013 3:14pm EDT
(Reuters) - Vermont on Monday became the fourth U.S. state to end legal penalties for doctors who prescribe medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their own lives.
The law, which includes a number of safeguards over the next three years as the state adapts, marked the first time a U.S. state has used the legislative process to make assisted suicide legal. Oregon and Washington have similar laws passed through ballot measures and a Montana court authorized the practice in 2009.
"Vermonters who face terminal illness and are in excruciating pain at the end of their lives now have control over their destinies. This is the right thing to do," said Governor Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, who signed the law on Monday.
Supporters of the practice are hoping Vermont's law will lend momentum in other states, such as Connecticut and New Jersey, that have considered similar legislation. A bill legalizing the practice failed in Massachusetts last year.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/us-usa-vermont-assistedsuicide-idUSBRE94J0QC20130520
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