In this episode of Voices of the Completed Life, we interviewed Lynda Shannon Bluestein. Lynda is a Connecticut woman who recently won the right to access Medical Aid-in-Dying in court under Vermont’s Act 39. Prior to Lynda’s decision to sue Vermont, she received a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2021, which followed two-prior battles with cancer dating back to 2019. Lynda’s desire to seek out Medical Aid-in-Dying is motivated by her wish to live a life she sees as complete, and has created her own checklist for what she values most as she nears the end of her life.

In this podcast interview, we will hear Lynda’s first-hand account of receiving her terminal diagnosis. We will also explore how she found her unique role in Right to Die advocacy, including when she met her co-plaintiff in the Vermont case, Dr. Diana Barnard, a Vermont-based physician, and connected with the Advocacy organization, Compassion & Choices, who helped file the lawsuit on Lynda’s behalf. We will conclude with a discussion about Lynda’s upbringing, where she gained her beliefs about death, and her “Death Plan,” which she intends to complete by the time she accesses Medical Aid-in-Dying.

Following the recording of this episode, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed House Bill 190 into law on May 2nd, 2023. With this landmark action, Vermont became the first state in the US to pass legislation that permits medical-aid-in-dying services to qualifying patients regardless of the state in which they legally reside.

Lynda’s story has previously been written about in various publications, including the New York Times

If you would like to share a response to Lynda Shannon Bluestein’s story, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms, @completedlife. Additionally, if you are interested in sharing your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at [email protected].


Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube

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Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.

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