What Is It

If you’re an adult with a terminal illness and six months or less to live, Medical Aid in Dying could be an option for you — whether you live in Vermont or not.

It allows you to hasten your own death by taking a lethal combination of medication, once all legal requirements are met, at a time of your choosing in Vermont.

Choice matters. Considering Medical Aid in Dying isn’t about giving up — it’s about deciding how your final chapter is written.

Why I Care About Medical Aid in Dying

In 2011, my father was dying in Florida and wanted access to Medical Aid in Dying. It wasn’t available to him — or to anyone outside Oregon or Washington at the time. I bore witness to needless suffering, his and my own. At the moment it mattered most, choice didn’t exist.

That’s personal. It’s why I do this work — so people can remain authors of their own lives, including how those lives end.

Vermont Eligibility Requirements

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less
• Make an informed and voluntary request
• Be capable of making your own health care decisions
• Be able to take the medication yourself – ingested through the digestive tract

Timeline

How long this takes depends mostly on how soon a first appointment can be scheduled — often the longest wait. Not all Vermont providers are able to take out-of-state patients due to system constraints, so wait times can be longer for non-residents.

You will see two separate doctors in Vermont: the prescribing physician and the consulting physician.

1. First appointment — You make your first oral request for medication to hasten your death at this appointment. The prescribing physician reviews your medical history, confirms your diagnosis / prognosis and discusses all your end-of-life options.
2. 15-day wait (minimum) — Starts at the first appointment. The consulting physician appointment should ideally happen during this window — usually scheduled near the start or end, for ease of coordination. You also complete the written request for medication, signed by two witnesses.
3. Second appointment — You make your second oral request to the prescribing physician and submit the written request which is required before the prescription can be written.
4. Prescription — Once all requirements are met, the prescription can be written.
5. Ingestion — Taken when you choose in VT – you must remain able to make health care decisions and to take the medication yourself.

How You’re Supported

Ongoing emotional, spiritual and logistical support — from your first conversation through funeral planning and early grief witnessing.

A central part of my work is walking with you — providing clear information, answering questions and contingency planning — so you understand the process and its steps.

• Emotional support and holding space throughout
• Help identifying Vermont medical providers, and tracking appointments, paperwork, and timelines – if needed
• Preparing you for conversations with providers and hospice; accompaniment to appointments if desired
• Coordination with hospice, loved ones, and others, so you can spend your time as you wish
• Funeral, memorial, and legacy planning — including help with creating rituals meaningful to you
• Presence with you and your loved ones through ingestion, death and after
• Funeral home coordination, early grief witnessing, and grief support resource referrals for your loved ones
• Parallel planning for a supported natural death

If you live outside Vermont: I also help coordinate travel and lodging and practical in-Vermont support. Hospice support is recommended both in your home state and while you’re here in Vermont.

My fee slides between $2,000 and $4,000, based on what’s financially possible for you. When you choose to pay toward the higher end, you’re choosing to sustain this work — making it possible for me to be there for some people who cannot afford any fees at all. Any contribution you make keeps this care available to the community.