Three Republican senators spoke against the 2013 law during debate over extending a provision that grants immunity for doctors who prescribe lethal doses of medication to patients suffering from terminal illness who request it. That provision of the law is due to sunset July 1, 2016.
During debate on S.108, which would have removed the sunset clause, senators attempted to postpone action until next year, and Sen. Norm McAllister, R-Franklin, moved to repeal the so-called Death With Dignity law altogether.
All of those attempts failed, and the Senate will hold a final vote on removing the sunset clause Thursday. McAllister’s amendment to repeal the parent statute, Act 39, was defeated, 18-12.
Sens. Peg Flory, R-Rutland, and Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, argued to postpone a vote on the sunset clause until Jan. 13, 2016. Flory said S.108 did not receive as much debate as the original bill did in 2013, and said the Senate should collect more data to see if the law is working.
“Is it our place as government to tell people that suicide is a viable option for you?” Flory asked. “I think it’s a bad policy when the state tells people that some lives, you ought to consider ending them.”
Flory also shared stories of a colleague who committed suicide, the death of her husband and the death of her father, who died after a long illness and eventually becoming incontinent.
“People die with dignity whether they do it in their beds … having their sheets changed,” Flory said.
McAllister said government should not be involved in making end-of-life decisions. He described how he took care of his late wife while she was dying from pancreatitis.
“We were told from the very first day that this was not going to end well,” McAllister said. “There were days that were very bad, but we got through it. I don’t think this bill is necessary.”
Sen. Claire Ayer, D-Addison, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare, said maintaining the right to die is not about the government choosing to end lives, but giving more rights and options to terminally ill patients.
“A lot of health care providers have problems with this bill,” Ayer said. “That’s why it’s completely voluntary. We have enough doctors and pharmacists to serve a state that’s the size of a small city.”
Ayer estimated that between 1 percent and 3 percent of terminal patients cannot get relief from pain. She said Act 39 has enough “safeguards” to keep patients from ending their lives prematurely.
The law requires terminally ill patients to make two oral requests to their doctor, 15 days apart, and then offer written consent. The prescribing doctor also must submit a report to the Department of Health with the patient’s medical record and certification of the patient’s mental state.
Health Commissioner Harry Chen said last month that six prescriptions had been issued.
The first doctor in the state to request a lethal prescription to end a terminally ill patient’s life was Dr. Kim Kurak, a family doctor at a community health center in Brandon.
Kurak wrote in a letter to Ayer that she obtained the prescription for her husband, saying, “Unless you’ve watched someone get sick and die, it might be impossible to understand the importance of this law.”
Gov. Peter Shumlin said in a news conference earlier Wednesday that he supports the bill. Shumlin said the children of Maggie Lake, who used the law following a long battle with cancer, thanked him for letting her die a few weeks early to save her from additional pain and suffering.
Dr. Robert Emmons, one of two doctors who testified against S.108 in the Committee on Health and Welfare, said helping patients end their lives violates ethical standards set by the American Medical Association.
Ayer said two other doctors testified in favor of S.108 while the bill was in committee.
