Powerful State Senator Leads Push to Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide in Vermont.

The first serious push to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Vermont has begun. Chittenden County State Senator Virginia "Ginny" Lyons (D) is the lead sponsor of Senate Bill S.112, a so-called "Death With Dignity Act." Lyons is also a member of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee to which S. 112 has been assigned.

Senator Lyons debated and defended her position in favor of doctor-assisted suicide in a debate on Vermont Public Radio and on the public access program Point-Counterpoint. Senator Lyons remains unmoved by the overwhelming evidence that physician-assisted suicide will ultimately lead to abuse of the elderly, the terminally ill, people with disabilities, and others who are vulnerable.

Lyons remains steadfast even in the face of extraordinary opposition from the medical community, including the American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, British Medical Association, Canadian Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American Society of Internal Medicine, American Geriatrics Society, National Hospice Organization, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Lung Association, and the Vermont Medical Society (1997).

There is also one additional opponent - - the newly formed Vermont Alliance for Ethical Healthcare (VAEH), comprised of Vermont physicians and other professionals who are concerned about the so-called "Death With Dignity" legislation. Dr. Robert Orr, M.D., the president of VAEH, has been an outspoken opponent of assisted suicide and national expert on end-of-life issues.

The South Burlington-based group sponsored a legislative luncheon at the Capital Plaza in Montpelier recently, and Dr. Orr gave a presentation he ...