The Vermont Death with Dignity Statute is a result of a 10-year campaign know as - Patient Choice and Control at the End of Life, Act 39 - and was passed through the state legislature on May 20, 2013. When the law passed it immediately became effective and Vermont became the 1st state of 3 in the U.S. to pass the death with dignity law.
The original act resulted in a 10-year campaign and had certain provisions for patient protection that required a psychological evaluation to find out if there was a question as to whether the patient who was requesting lethal medication was of sound mind. Then there was an additional waiting period for lethal medication between the patient’s first and second request.
The legislature also …show more content…
It is suggested that they speak with their physician while they are cognizant of their choices which allows them to voice their concerns while they are still healthy enough to do so. If their physician is not supportive of their choice, then it is not too late to search for another physician who will be more receptive to their choice. The patient also should at that time provide an advanced directive and make it know what their decision is prior to their illness worsening because the doctor may not be as thoughtful of their choices afterwards. And the patient must make sure that the doctor documents in their chart that they are requesting the state’s aid in dying law.
Talking to Your Family The patient is encouraged to reach out to family members and discuss their decision for moral support. They are encouraged to tell them what they are planning and give them a chance to respond with their acceptance or rejection. This allows family members to be able to cope once the patient is no longer living. (DWDO, 2016).
Process of Obtaining Medication
There are many stringent requirements to pass, to end your life and you must officially be qualified to do …show more content…
I thought it was barbaric and selfish and not what God intended. That was until I started getting older and surrounded by family members who were critically and terminally ill. In the past 6 years, I have lost my grandmother to bladder cancer and Alzheimers in 2009 and watched her literally waste away to a point where I could see her spine. She suffered terribly and was in a lot of pain. My father 3 years later in 2013 from a stroke and cerebral hematoma, and most recently my sister last year in 2015 from spindel cell sarcoma. She out of all of them was by far the worst. I witnessed her pain and suffering through treatments for the cancer that was worst than the cancer itself to the radiation and surgeries that butchered her body. I know how difficult all of their lives had been and how painful everything was for them and each time I prayed that God would just hurry up an take them away so that they would not have to continue the