Vermont drops residency rule for medically assisted death

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill May 2 allowing adults who do not live in the state to access life-ending care.

The move makes Vermont the first state in the nation to remove a residency requirement from its medically assisted death law, according to The New York Times.

The amended law was spurred by a lawsuit filed against Vermont by Lynda Bluestein, a 75-year-old Connecticut woman with late-stage fallopian tube cancer. Ms. Bluestein contended that the state's residency requirement for medically assisted death was unconstitutional.

Vermont waived the requirement for Ms. Bluestein in a March settlement, and a bill to amend the state's existing law passed the state Senate and House in April. 

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