Connecticut woman 1st non-Vermonter granted right to assisted suicide

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont has agreed to a legal settlement that will allow a Connecticut woman to be the first out-of-stater to take advantage of its decade-old law that allows people who are terminally ill to end their own lives. Seventy-five-year-old Lynda Bluestein, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, sued Vermont last summer, claiming its ban on non-state residents using Vermont’s medically assisted suicide law was unconstitutional. Under the settlement filed Tuesday (March 14, 2023), she will be allowed to end her life in Vermont when the time comes, provided she complies with other aspects of the law. Vermont’s Legislature is also considering lifting the restriction on non-residents taking advantage of the law. Only Oregon currently allows non-residents to die by medically assisted suicide.