Vermont is a step away from becoming the third state to legalize physician-assisted suicide, Baptist Press reports. The state's House of Representatives voted 75-65 May 13 to permit terminally ill Vermont residents to use a prescription for a lethal drug dose. The Senate had approved the legislation with a 17-13 vote. Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill into law, and Vermont will join Oregon and Washington as the only states to legalize assisted suicide. However, Vermont will become the first state to do so through the legislative process, as the other states legalized the practice through voter initiatives.
