Planning your end-of-life journey can present some of life’s toughest decisions. In those moments, you can count on Patient Choices Vermont to offer you clarity, compassion and trusted guidance.

For more than twenty years, Patient Choices Vermont has been the steady voice ensuring that Vermonters have the information, support, and freedom to make fully informed decisions about their end-of-life care.

Years of work, organization and advocacy by PCV led to the passage of Act 39 in 2013. This law opened the door for Vermonters to thoughtfully consider medical aid in dying—always with dignity, always with choice. Since then, we have helped defend and expand this right. We successfully lobbied for legislation providing crucial improvements to the function of Act 39 and opening it to people from other states. We have provided tens of thousands of people with comprehensive answers and heartfelt guidance during a deeply vulnerable time of life.

Today, the needs are growing.
Families are reaching out to us in ever-increasing numbers. Health professionals come to us asking for training. We receive requests from all over the state for help informing local communities about medical aid in dying. With your support, we are expanding our educational programs so that no one must make important end-of-life decisions in the dark.

People are hungry for information and support.
Your donations enable our knowledgeable and compassionate staff and volunteers to meet with Vermonters across the state: in public libraries, churches, senior centers and adult learning programs. We sit down with people in their hometowns to provide information, answer questions and facilitate conversations. ​

You can also donate by mail:
​
​Patient Choices Vermont
PO Box 671
Shelburne, VT 05482

​PCV is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your contributions are tax-deductible.

Monthly Zoom Discussions and Events

Each Exit Matters session will include an overview of Act 39 and MAiD in Vermont, with the opportunity to ask questions and learn about additional resources, followed by speakers on a related topic. 

FILM SCREENINGS IN VERMONT

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

MAiD under threat in Washington, D.C.

​This week the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government’s (FSGG) included language into a budget bill that would repeal Death with Dignity in Washington, DC and prevent the DC Council from adopting any such laws in the future. The District of Columbia legalized medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults in 2016 and DC residents deserve continued access to this end-of-life choice. To read more and learn how you can support MAID remaining a legal right to those residing in our nation’s capital please read here: Protect MAiD in DC.

📣 Take Action

Stand up for D.C. residents and the right to choose a peaceful end. Read more and then send your message to Congress.

Use the Find Your Representative feature on the U.S. House of Representatives website to let them know you stand with 67% of D.C. residents who polled in favor of MAiD.

​Here's a sample Message to Congress:

​I am writing to urge you to respect the right of District of Columbia residents, who overwhelmingly support the Death with Dignity Act, to make personal end-of-life choices without congressional interference. Every American should have the right to autonomy and compassion at the end of life. Please oppose any effort to repeal or weaken D.C.’s Death with Dignity Act.

Medical Aid in Dying Wins across the Northeast

Over the past several months advocates have been showing up in their state legislatures across the country to demand access to medical aid in dying. Today we highlight two of these success stories.

New York legislature passes Medical Aid in Dying Act

After many years of persistent advocacy, New York’s Medical Aid in Dying bill has passed both chambers of the New York legislature. The bill now moves to the Governor’s desk for her consideration and signature. We strongly urge Governor Hochul to listen to the majority of New Yorkers, Democrats and Republicans alike who support access to the full range of end-of-life options and sign the Medical Aid in Dying bill. You can read more about this historic vote and share your support for the bill with Governor Hochul’s office here: New York Medical Aid in Dying Bill.

Maine provides shorter waiting periods for those in dire need

Like all states where medical aid in dying is legal, Maine’s Death with Dignity law requires a waiting period from the initial request for MAID medication until the prescription can be provided. While this waiting period is intended to ensure a thoughtful process, it can also result in prolonged suffering. Maine’s Governor Janet Mills recently signed LD613, an amendment to the Maine Death with Dignity law. This amendment allows physicians to use their clinical discretion to waive up to 10 days of the 17-day waiting period for qualified terminally ill patients. We’re happy that these Maine patients will be able to consult with their doctors and have their suffering lessened.

How does the work we do at Patient Choices Vermont support these national efforts?

Those advocating to expand access to medical aid in dying count on us to demonstrate that MAID is a safe and compassionate end of life care option. When we provide critical education and support to patients, families and clinicians looking for accurate, comprehensive information, we help to ensure that MAID is practiced safely, following all requirements of the law. In addition, our work serving patients and medical providers in other states when a person is seeking MAID in VT helps people in those states understand clearly how MAID fits into the end of life care spectrum. Patient Choices Vermont serves as a model to states across the country when advocating for and implementing their own MAID laws and we often testify in support of MAID legislation in other states.

Thank You
​
We were heartened to have welcomed many new supporters into the Patient Choices Vermont community during our spring fundraising drive. If you missed this opportunity to contribute, we invite you to consider a financial gift today. We’re grateful to all of you who stand with us.

Or mail a check to:
Patient Choices Vermont
PO Box 671
Shelburne, VT 05482

PCV is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Your contributions are tax-deductible.

One of the questions many ask when learning that it's legal to travel to Vermont for medical aid in dying is, where do people stay?

The NPR program Here and Now had the same question and reached out to us for an interview. Our Executive Director, Amy Bruce was happy to join Robin Young along with a Vermont homeowner and family member of a MAID patient to discuss this sensitive topic. ​

"When they can’t die in their own home,
​some terminally ill patients are welcomed into someone else’s"
This segment aired on May 27, 2025.

​If you are interested in learning more about hosting people in your home or vacation rental property, please reach out to us via email at info@patientchoices.org. We receive requests regularly from families who are searching for a safe and quiet place where their loved ones can spend their final days or hours. 

Vermont Governor Shumlin signing Act 39 in 2013.

Over the past dozen years, PCV has also spearheaded the important work of keeping Act 39 up to date. In 2022, the legislation we proposed streamlined the application process and made medical aid in dying (MAID) more accessible to those who qualify. In 2023, we spearheaded the legislative process that opened MAID to people from out of state.  

On April 30th, we were invited to testify at a hearing of the Vermont House Human Services Committee on how Act 39 is working. While there are no legislative adjustments to Act 39 currently in the works, the legislators expressed gratitude that our team stays up to date on improvements in similar laws across the country. Committee members did ask us if we were thinking about future proposals. We sensed strong commitment to making sure that those nearing the end of life in Vermont should have the best care and options possible.

Listening Sessions Begin

Patient-centered decision-making, health, and safety remain at the center of any proposals to improve and update Act 39.  

Over the next few months, the PCV team will be checking in with doctors, hospice professionals, families, PCV Wayfinders, and our  Helpline volunteers  to make sure we have a comprehensive picture of the challenges that people face when considering aid in dying. We know that many people who are already coping with a terminal illness may have difficulties navigating the many steps in the process and coordinating all the logistics. 

Others find the waiting periods required by law to be disrespectful of the deep consideration they have already given to their options. At the very least, the waiting period adds stress to the process. We also know that most people wait until after they have made a decision to obtain medical aid in dying to begin the request process, not realizing that the process itself typically requires many weeks to complete. 

A number of other states have now simplified the process, and we are looking at what we can learn from the experience of those states.

Welcome Dr. Jennifer Carlo to Patient Choices Vermont (PCV)

Or mail a check to:
Patient Choices Vermont
PO Box 671
Shelburne, VT 05482

PCV is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Your contributions are tax-deductible.

This is the choice we have established; this is the choice we defend; this is the choice we work to enable and streamline. For me. For you. For your family and loved ones. For now. Forever.
 
Needless to say, I consider it a huge honor to be serving as PCV’s Executive Director. It is doubly rewarding because a core part of this job is to enhance and defend rights to bodily autonomy and personal decision-making toward the end of life, both of which are fundamental freedoms that I treasure.

Patient Choices Vermont is the only organization in Vermont focused on supporting and enhancing end-of-life autonomy and choice. Your contribution is your best chance at ensuring that right endures.
 
At the top of our agenda this year is to take a close look at how Act 39 is working for both individuals and medical providers and developing a plan for improvements. PCV’s Policy Team taps the expertise of board members, advisory board members and our medical team as we carefully consider updating the law.  
 
This year, we are solidifying and building our teams of volunteers as well as our relationships with collaborating organizations so that our networks are strong and resilient. I deeply appreciate the many generous and effective volunteers who, like me, have been attracted to this team and who do so much to enhance our operations. 

Our Volunteer Medical Team will provide training to a wide range of medical and hospice professionals. Our Helpline Team, which includes individuals with a combination of nursing and hospice background, provides personal guidance to more than 1,000 people each year. Our Outreach Team, which includes our Program Manager and me, our media specialist, and many volunteers in the field will connect with groups at community centers, libraries and churches.  The Wayfinders Network, launched by PCV last year, walks hand in hand with those navigating end-of-life choices offering personal assistance to the seriously ill and their loved ones.
 
You, too, are part of this community, expressing your dedication to end-of-life choice through the conversations you have with friends and by keeping up to date and informed via our newsletter and through the videos and wealth of information on our website. And, of course, your donations help PCV support the thousands of individuals who are facing very personal decisions as well as the medical and hospice professionals that serve them.

“The work you are doing is spectacular, and so vital. My wife is struggling with progressive supranuclear palsy. We are researching humane end of life options and found your site, by far, the most informative and helpful.”  ~~ From one of our 23,000 website users.  

​With your donation, you will have an important local impact while also influencing end-of-life policies across the country.  You will be helping to ensure a deeply personal right of bodily autonomy and self-determination.  

What a gift this organization is to people who are seeking trusted information about end-of-life options.  Every one of us will enter that time when we will want to consider these choices.  Together, let’s make sure that everyone has access to accurate and complete information and the freedom to exercise personal autonomy, whether we choose medical aid in dying or not.  

With appreciation,
​Amy Bruce
Executive Director