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| VT H.44 Doctor-assisted-death bill defeatedExcerpt from The Burlington Free Press "Doctor-assisted-death bill defeated Published: Thursday, March 22, 2007 By Terri Hallenbeck Free Press Staff Writer MONTPELIER -- In a vote that surprised people on both sides of the issue, the House on Wednesday defeated a bill that would have allowed doctors to help terminally ill patients hasten their deaths. The 82-63 vote, which came after almost four hours of debate, ends the legislation's chances for the two-year session. Rep. Patricia O'Donnell, a Republican from Vernon, told colleagues she thought she was going to vote for the bill based on her experience watching her father die of cancer, the last seven weeks in extreme pain. "My father would have been mortified to know we were changing his diapers," she said. "I don't want anyone to die the way my father did." She changed her mind Wednesday afternoon, she said, as she listened to the debate and worried whether there were enough safeguards to prevent abuse of the law. O'Donnell said afterward that it was the first time she's ever changed her mind about a bill while it was on the floor. "I think a lot of people changed their minds during the debate," O'Donnell said. People on both sides of the issue had predicted a close vote Wednesday that didn't turn out very close and did not follow party lines. Bob Ullrich of Charlotte, president of the group End of Life Choices that advocated for the legislation, said he was surprised and disappointed by the outcome. In Oregon, where the legislation has been in place nine years, hospice and palliative care have grown significantly, he said, and he worries that Vermont will do nothing to improve the comfort of those who are dying. Deborah Lisi-Baker, director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living, which opposed the bill, said she was pleased with Wednesday's vote, but that she, too, would like to see Vermont work on improving access to hospice." Read the full article |