On January 8, 2020

Physician-assisted death law used by 28 Vermonters over 2-year period

By Jacob Dawson/VTDigger

A state law allowing people with terminal illnesses to end their lives with the aid of a physician was used by 28 Vermonters during a recent two-year period, according to a recent state Health Department report.

In 2013, then-Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into law Act 39, which allows patients with conditions like cancer, ALS and neurodegenerative diseases to request a prescription for lethal drugs to hasten their death.

The report released this week —  which covered the two years between July 1, 2017, June 30, 2019 — said that 34 patients qualified for the terminal prescriptions under Vermont’s law. Of those, 24 had cancer, four had ALS, three had neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Huntington’s, and three others had unspecified conditions.
All 34 patients are now deceased, with 28 having used the lethal drugs, five dying from the underlying disease and one whose cause of death is considered unknown.

Biennial reports that included the compiling of certain data were required under Act 27, which was enacted in 2015.

Under the aid-in-dying law, doctors are protected from liability when prescribing the drugs to those individuals with a prognosis of death within six months.

Patients must make the request voluntarily and administer the drugs themselves. They also must receive a second opinion confirming the diagnosis and undergo a mental health evaluation.

The first report by the Health Department following passage of the law was released in 2017 and covered the period between May 31, 2013, and June 30, 2017. During that time of just more than four years, 52 patients had met the requirements to end their own life; of those, 43 had cancer, seven had ALS and the remaining two had other conditions.

That initial report confirmed the deaths of 48 of the 52 patients, with the remaining four believed to still be alive at the time the report was released. Among the 48 confirmed deaths, 29 used lethal drugs prescribed to them, 17 died from their diseases, one died from “other causes” and one was labeled as unknown.

Vermont is one of eight states to have a physician-assisted death law, but it was the first to do so through the state Legislature rather than by way of a public referendum.

In his 2017 farewell address, Shumlin revealed publicly that his father, George, had used the law to end his life in 2014 while battling cancer.

Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?

Send Us An Email!

Related Posts

Checkmate

April 2, 2025
During the Town Meeting recess, we took the opportunity to visit our Maryland grandsons, Theo and Spencer. Six-year-old Theo challenged me to play a game of chess. I haven’t played chess in many years and even needed a refresher on which pieces could make which moves. And while I started strong, there was that gleam…

Lawmakers consider compensating landowners who open their land to public trails

April 2, 2025
By Sam Hartnett, Community News Service Editor’s note: This story is via Community News Service in partnership with Vermont State University Castleton. Should landowners who allow public trail networks on their property be compensated? That’s the question a study group would be tasked with answering under a bill in the Senate. It’s too late to…

Phil Scott extends motel stays for families and ‘medically vulnerable’ individuals

April 2, 2025
By Carly Berlin Editor’s note: This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public. On Friday, Gov. Phil Scott took executive action to extend motel voucher stays for unhoused families with children and certain people with acute medical needs through June 30. Without the…

AG: Protect your data from the 23andMe bankruptcy

April 2, 2025
Attorney General Charity Clark issued a consumer alert to help Vermonters protect their personal data in the wake of 23andMe’s bankruptcy recent filing on March 26. On Monday, March 24, 23andMe announced that they had filed for bankruptcy. 23andMe is a direct-to-consumer genetic testing company that collects and analyzes genetic information and health data for consumers.  The…