Why we ask for your support...

Thank you to the many people who responded so quickly to our fall fundraising letter! We're putting your donations right to work and we deeply appreciate notes like this one which bring special meaning to our mission:

“Thank you PCV for all you do. We wouldn't been able to have the gift of letting my mom choose without you. Dierdre Allen was so blessed to work with you, to let her choose, have a voice, and leave on her own terms. The work you do saves so much pain and despair, not only for the sick, but the families as well.” -Meagan Burns

PCV Board Member, Susan Gillotti, recently recorded this video to explain why she supports Patient Choices Vermont (PCV):

Click to Support Patient Choices Vermont

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.

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Your Support Helps:

• Expand the number of experienced medical providers able to engage deeply with the increasing number of patients who want to consider aid in dying.
• Promote best practices with tools and resources for patients, families and medical professionals.
• Nurture and grow the networks of people who provide compassionate support to patients and families.
• Ensure that aid in dying is here for the long term.

You may have noticed in our recent communications that people from other states are seeking the autonomy that aid in dying provides and are exploring coming to Vermont. While the number of people who actually come is small, the PCV team talks to hundreds of people who eventually decide to die at home but are comforted by our advice and coaching about how to express their desires with their medical, hospice and palliative care providers. We are pleased to report that people from out of state are recognizing the importance of PCV’s work and stepping up with financial support alongside the many Vermonters who help fund our work.

New 10-State Collaboration:

PCV’s Program Manager, Audrey Winograd, and I just got back from New York, where we were able to gather in person for the first time with colleagues from the other states with medical-aid-in-dying laws.
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It was a powerful experience for us to engage in person, sharing the deep commitment brought to this work by colleagues from across the country. For two days, we gained in-depth perspectives about each other's programs and the challenges we face. We forged valuable connections among the state representatives with whom we can brainstorm about best practices, strategies, legislative plans, and more. 

The PCV team launched the idea of gathering like this a couple of months ago, and we extend our thanks to the Completed Life Initiative for hosting this inaugural event. 

Elsewhere:

We’re continuing to see serious challenges to medical aid in dying (MAID) in other states. Delaware’s legislature passed a MAID bill, only to have it vetoed by the governor. In New Jersey, a lawsuit seeking to overturn their MAID law’s residency requirement received a negative court decision and has been appealed. Most distressingly, in West Virginia, a constitutional amendment banning aid in dying was approved by the voters. 
I’m so grateful to live in our small state where individual decision-making and bodily autonomy are respected. 

In this moment, if you would like to have a direct impact here in Vermont, please consider supporting access to aid in dying for all of us as well as friends and family and others, no matter where they call home. PCV’s work has a ripple effect across our communities, sparking conversations about what we each consider is most important in life, especially when life is ending.