Vermont doctors ponder physician-assisted suicide

The issue could be decided by a mail vote, with ballots sent to the entire state medical society membership.

By Andis Robeznieks, AMNews staff. Oct. 6, 2003.

When the Vermont Medical Society meets Oct. 17-18, its members should be well prepared to debate whether the society should change its policy on physician-assisted suicide.

Society members have been discussing the issue in a series of seven medical society members-only forums held throughout the state in preparation for the discussion -- which is likely to capture the attention of Vermont legislators, who could soon take up their own debate on the issue.

The debate was prompted by VMS members who have been advocating for Vermont to become the second state to allow physician-assisted suicide. To further that aim, they introduced a resolution calling for the society to rethink its position on the issue.

But because there are three related bills on the issue before the state Legislature, physicians are well aware of the weight their decision and the debate leading up to it could carry.

The three bills are now mired in committee. One specifically bans the practice, one is patterned after Oregon's law allowing physician-assisted suicide and one calls for the creation of an advisory commission on palliative care and pain management.

"It's quite common knowledge that legislators respect the opinion of physicians on a variety of issues," said Carmer Van Buren, MD, a retired internist from Shelburne, who submitted the resolution asking the society to rethink its position.

Dr. Van Buren is not asking the society to come out for or against assisted suicide, he's asking them to be neutral. "We want to avoid significant division within the medical society," said Dr. Van Buren, who favors passing a law patterned after Oregon's Death With Dignity Act. "We're saying we respect people's opinion on both sides of the issue, and all we ask is that the medical society take a neutral position and leave the decision up to the physician and their patient."