More than 200 terminally ill Vermonters qualified for the state’s aid-in-dying law in its first decade

More than 200 terminally ill Vermonters qualified for the state’s aid-in-dying law in its first decade
VT Digger, 12/28/23
Over 200 terminally ill patients have sought and qualified to receive life-ending drugs since Vermont first legalized medical-aid-in-dying more than a decade ago, according to a recent report from the Vermont Department of Health. Vermont first legalized the practice—sometimes referred to as “death with dignity” by supporters or “assisted suicide” by opponents—in May 2013. From then until the end of June 2023, 203 Vermonters sought and qualified for the medication, according to the report. Not all of those who had access to the drugs obtained or used them, according to the Department of Health. Some died from the underlying disease. ... A vast majority of those who utilized the program had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, according to the report.