Community discussion in Putney looks at end-of-life options

PUTNEY — The public is invited to attend a free community discussion to learn more about Vermont's medical-aid-in-dying law, Act 39, which enables adult, state residents who are facing a terminal illness to obtain a prescription allowing them to choose their time of death.

On Monday, Sept. 30, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Putney Community Cares, Inc., Patient Choices Vermont, and Brattleboro Area Hospice will co-sponsor “Your Options, Your Autonomy, at End of Life.”

The discussion will take place at the Putney Meadows Common Room, 17 Carol Brown Way, and will be led by Dr. Diana Barnard, M.D., Betsy Walkerman, Esq., and Susan Gillotti. Attendees are invited to engage in a life-affirming and empowering discussion and ask questions, find answers, and share stories.

Barnard is a palliative care physician at UVM Medical Center and on the Board of Patient Choices Vermont. Walkerman is president of PCV, and Gillotti is an advisory board member with PCV whose husband used medical aid in dying under the provisions of Act 39. Information on medical aid in dying and Vermont's Act 39 are available at www.PatientChoices.org.

Reserve a seat by emailing [email protected]. To learn more about the event, contact Program Coordinator Abby Jacobson at Putney Community Cares at 802-387-5593 or [email protected].

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