The Fight for Medically Assisted Suicide Across State Lines

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Lynda Bluestein has terminal cancer and knows she’ll likely die soon, but until Tuesday, she didn’t know if she’d be able to choose how or when and whether her family, friends and dog would be with her when the time comes. The 75-year-old from Bridgeport, Connecticut, reached a settlement with the state of Vermont that will allow her to be the first non-resident to take advantage of its decade-old law that allows people who are terminally ill to end their own lives, provided she complies with other aspects of the law. “I was so relieved to hear of the settlement of my case that will allow me to decide when cancer has taken all from me that I can bear,” said Bluestein, 75, who has fallopian tube cancer. “The importance of the peace of mind knowing that I will now face fewer obstacles in accessing the autonomy, control, and choice in this private, sacred and very personal decision about the end of my life is enormous.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Vermont is one of 10 states that allow medically assisted suicide, but only one, Oregon, allows non-residents to do it. Bluestein’s settlement and pending legislation that would remove Vermont’s residency requirement offer a ray of hope to other terminally ill patients who want to control how and when they die but might not be able to cross the country to do so. Bluestein and Diana Barnard, a physician from Middlebury, sued Vermont last summe...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Health Care healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news