DOVER — The Vermont State Legislature has recently advanced “An Act Relating to Patient Choice and Control at the End of Life.”
The legislation, which some might call the “Death with Dignity Bill,” allows a patient who has been diagnosed with less than six months to live to request a medication that would expedite the dying process.
Such legislation has been in place in Oregon now for over 10 years. The Vermont bill, which passed in the state Senate on Feb. 14, also ensures that family members and doctors cannot be sued and limits liability.
I am not a health-care professional; I am a person training for ministry in the United Church of Christ. But I also served as a hospital chaplaincy intern in one of the biggest trauma centers in Boston, where I have walked with multiple patients through the hard choices and painful dying process on multiple occasions.
My faith teaches me that Jesus empowers us as full decision-makers on behalf of our own well being. Therefore, I respect the right of every person to make the best choices when it comes to health care.
However, while this legislation addresses well the issues of capacity and liability, I am concerned it does not fully address the question of safeguards.
What is in place to prevent doctors from pushing poor or less-financially-advantaged patients toward ending their lives due to financial constraints?
What would stop insurance companies from requiring people be given this medication in order to avoid paying for treatment?
I think questions of this nature have not yet been fully answered.
I believe that all life is a gift from God, and so we must treat it with the utmost care.
And in this case I ask: What is the rush? Why must we move this legislation forward without taking pause to consider all of the issues?
I think we are called to nothing less than our most detailed consideration of these details. I hope that when this bill is taken up in the House, such consideration will be given.