VAEH Newsletter #34

June 3, 2005

Hi Folks,

The Vermont legislature has almost wound down, and though I have learned to be on the lookout for unexpected legislative events, I think it is safe to say that H-168, the “Death With Dignity” bill, will not be voted out of the House Human Services Committee before they adjourn. Of course, the bill remains “on the wall” of that committee and could be taken up during the 2006 session. We know that Ann Pugh, chair of the House Human Services Committee, is supportive of this measure, as are a solid majority of the committee members. We do not know the stance of Judiciary Committee members or the full House or Senate. I believe the hesitation in moving forward on a measure they support is because the legislators have taken seriously some of the concerns we have expressed --- namely that this measure should not be considered until Vermont has universal access to healthcare and enhanced palliative care measures, perhaps along with the uncertainty of the Supreme Court deliberations on the (mis)use of controlled substances in Oregon. That SC case is scheduled to be argued this fall, with a decision likely several months later.

The legislature has made some strong moves on both of these fronts, but I think it would be very short-sighted of them to say “OK, we’ve fixed those problems, so now we can vote in physician-assisted suicide.” Our concerns remain valid. These statutory measures will take several years to have an impact. And of course, there are other reasons to oppose PAS.

It is tempting to relax and wait to see what happens. However, the VAEH cannot afford to do that. We have scheduled a meeting of some of the more active members of VAEH to make plans for the summer and fall, so that we will be adequately prepared, as will be our wider constituency, if the bill gets re-energized next year.

You may want to check out our website. We have added a new resourse: a compilation of text from 21 individuals who spoke and/or submitted written testimony to the House Human Services Committee in opposition to H-169 during the April hearings. (http://www.vaeh.org/resources/VT-HHS-Testimony-2005-04.doc)

The current stance of the DWD/EOLC/C&C/Hemlock folks is “the Vermont Legislative Council looked last summer at the Oregon experience and found no problems, so we should move forward.” Our reply is that the Legislative Council’s 37-page report is incomplete. With their limited time and budget, they did their investigation from here in Vermont --- and more importantly, they spoke only with supporters of physician-assisted suicide, not with anyone opposed. The British House of Lords Select Committee actually sent interviewers to Oregon and spoke with both sides in the debate. I have recently received a copy of their 150-page report and 750-pages of supporting documents --- but I have been otherwise occupied and haven’t yet had a chance to read them.

Thank you very much for your help during this legislative session. Your summer assignments are as follows:

Those of you who have a personal relationship with your legislators, continue to speak to them about your opposition to the legalization of PAS.
We need to broaden our constituency base, in all parts of the state, but especially in the southern half. If each person who currently receives this e-mail could forward it to 2 or 3 like-minded persons, encourage them to “sign up” to receive it by going to our website (www.vaeh.org) , or better still, offer to sign up for them --- all you need is their e-address and a quick trip to our home-page: www.vaeh.org.

Bob Orr, president, Vermont Alliance for Ethical Healthcare