Perfect it is not; but people who are suffering right now will see relief from the Senate End of Life Choice bill; and that is worth a lot.

The compromise agreement that will ultimately allow “death with dignity”  to become a legal option in Vermont is a short-term solution, sunsetting the Oregon-style comprehensive Choice language in 2016 and replacing it with language that will do no more than indemnify physicians who assist patients when they choose to end their own lives.

That doesn’t seem like much of a victory for lawmakers who fought long and hard to allow Vermonters to control their own destiny when all hope is well-past and all they have in their short future is pain and suffering before inevitable death.  But it means everything to those who will face the unthinkable in the immediate future; and there is every reason to hope that, once reluctant legislators have an opportunity to see the Oregon-style law in effect, they will gain the confidence to extend that comprehensive language indefinitely.

Thank you for that, Senators.