Vermont Drops Residency Rule From Assisted Suicide Law

Move is a US first
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 2, 2023 2:53 PM CDT
Vermont Allows Out-of-Staters to Use Assisted Suicide Law
The Vermont State House in Montpelier.   (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke, File)

Vermont on Tuesday became the first state in the country to change its medically assisted suicide law to allow terminally ill people from out of state to take advantage of it to end their lives. Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed the bill that removes the residency requirement for the decades-old law, the AP reports. Before Vermont removed its residency requirement Tuesday, it had reached a settlement with a Connecticut woman who has terminal cancer to allow her to take advantage of its law, provided she complies with other aspects of it.

"We are grateful to Vermont lawmakers for recognizing that a state border shouldn’t determine if you die peacefully or in agony," said Kim Callinan, president and CEO of Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit advocacy organization, in a statement. "Patients routinely travel to other states to utilize the best healthcare options. There is no rational reason they shouldn’t be able to travel to another state to access medical aid in dying if the state they live in doesn’t offer it."

Vermont is one of 10 states that allow medically assisted suicide. Critics of such laws say without the residency requirements states risk becoming assisted suicide tourism destinations. In a court settlement last year, Oregon agreed to stop enforcing the residency requirement of its law allowing terminally ill people to receive lethal medication. It also agreed to ask the Legislature to remove it from the law.

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For Cassandra Johnston, 38, of Clifton Park, New York, the news was "such a relief." She was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer last year and lives a 40-minute drive from Vermont. "It gives me such a peace of mind to know that if I need that peaceful and compassionate option that it's right next door," Johnston said. "And it's life-changing for someone like me. It really is."

(More assisted suicide stories.)

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