The state of Vermont has become the third U.S. state to allow physicians to prescribe lethal drugs to  terminally ill patients who wish to kill themselves.

CNA/EWTN News is reporting that the Vermont House approved the bill by a vote of 75 to 65 on May 13 after the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 16-14 last week. Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin has said he will sign the bill.

The new law allows physicians to prescribe lethal drugs to patients who are suffering from an “incurable and irreversible disease” and who have a life expectancy of six months or less. Some of the safeguards put in place for the first three years will require the patient’s primary physician and a consulting doctor to agree that the diagnosis is terminal and that the patient is capable of giving informed consent. The patient will also have to request the drugs twice, with a 15-day period between the requests, and will have to self-administer the drugs.

After July 1, 2016, the state would require less monitoring and reporting by doctors; however, lawmakers will have the option of keeping the tougher safeguards in place if they feel it is necessary.

Proponents of the law, such as Governor Shumlin, say it offers people “a choice to control their destiny and avoid unnecessary suffering.”

But critics point to the problems in Oregon and Washington where a myriad of unforeseen issues have arisen. For instance, doctors almost unanimously agree that it’s impossible to accurately determine how long a terminally ill patient will live, which means the diagnosis can be wrong.

Patients who don’t want to subject their loved ones to the strain of a prolonged illness may also feel pressured to end their lives early.

It has also been found that many of the patients who request suicide are suffering from depression and, once treated, embrace the end of their life with peace.

Others say safeguards do not prevent a deadly cocktail from falling into the wrong hands.

Some experts believe Oregon’s law has become a recipe for elder abuse.

“Oregon’s assisted suicide law, itself, allows the lethal dose to be administered without oversight,” writes Margaret Dore, Esq., president of Choice is an Illusion.

“This creates the opportunity for an heir, or someone else who will benefit from the patient’s death, to administer the lethal dose to the patient without the patient’s consent. Even if he struggled, who would know?”

As she points out, “Of the 77 [Death With Dignity Act] deaths during 2012, most (67.5%) were aged 65 years or older; the median age was 69 years.  As in previous years, most were white (97.4%), [and] well-educated (42.9% had at least a baccalaureate degree) . . . . Most (51.4%) had private health insurance.

“Typically persons with these attributes are seniors with money, which would be the middle class and above, a group disproportionately at risk of financial abuse and exploitation.”

Legalizing assisted suicide is bound to have even more ramifications, says the Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

“Physician-assisted suicide will forever transform the role of physician from one who preserves life to one who takes life. . . . Catholics must raise their voices against such an affront to human life.”

They add: “True compassion calls us to embrace those who are dying, not provide them with the means to end their lives.”

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