Vermont
governor signs physician-assisted suicide bill
Tuesday,
May 21, 2013, Matthew Pomy
[JURIST]
Vermont Governor
Peter Shumlin signed legislation [text, PDF; bill summary, PDF] Monday that legalizes
physician-assisted suicide in the state. This bill makes Vermont the
fourth state in the US to approve the practice. The Patient Choice and
Control at End of Life Act (aka "Death
with Dignity" bill), was passed [JURIST
report] by the legislature earlier this month. Under the new law, mentally
competent patients who have been diagnosed with six months to live will be
permitted to request that the doctor proscribe a lethal dose of narcotic. The
doctor will be required to follow specific procedures relating to obtaining
patient consent. The law creates a 48-hour waiting period before the doctor may
write the prescription. The provisions take effect in July and will expire
after three years.
The right to die [JURIST
news archive] has been a contentious issue around the world. The only European
countries that allow assisted suicide are Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg
and Switzerland. Earlier this month the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] ruled [JURIST
report] that Swiss law does not provide sufficient guidelines on the extent of
the right to die. Last month the Supreme Court of Ireland rejected
an appeal [JURIST report] by a paralyzed woman seeking to allow
her partner to help her commit suicide. Although Ireland decriminalized suicide
in 1993, it is still a crime to assist another to commit suicide. In December a
report released by the French government recommended [JURIST
report] that the country permit doctors to "accelerate death" for
terminally ill patients seeking doctor-assisted euthanasia. In August the High
Court of England and Wales denied [JURIST
report] the plea of a paralyzed man challenging the legitimacy of the Suicide
Act 1961 and other laws barring his ability to commit suicide.
