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| photo credit: Jim Bowen / Flickr |
The legislation was passed by both houses and signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott (R).
The text reads that "A physician shall not be subject to any civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action if the physician prescribes to a patient with a terminal condition medication to be self-administered for the purpose of hastening the patient’s death..."
Vermont's law goes on to describe the restriction that a patient must abide by a 15-day waiting period to be prescribed suicide drugs. If the physician deems it appropriate, however, neither of the two requests for assisted suicide needs to be made in person.
