The recent elimination of residency requirements in Vermont and Oregon underscores an evolving legal landscape for Medical Aid in Dying in the United States. What are the practical implications of the elimination of a state’s residency requirement? What does this important development mean for other jurisdictions where MAiD is legal? What are the potential repercussions faced by the families of patients who travel from other jurisdictions? This evolving legal landscape in the United States comes with challenges that could put current laws protecting people at the end of life at risk, with the most recent legal challenge posed by certain disability rights groups in their lawsuit against the State of California’s End of Life Options Act, alleging harm to people with disabilities. This session will also explore the implications of attempts on reforming and expanding MAiD laws in the jurisdictions where MAiD is legal, as well as the impact of such lawsuits on jurisdictions where it is currently proposed.

Diana Barnard, M.D. is Assistant Professor of Medicine at UVM Larner College of Medicine and Lead Physician in the Division of Palliative Medicine at the University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center, Middlebury, VT. Dr. Barnard has played a vital role in improving end-of-life care in Vermont, propelling the state to the forefront of palliative care. For over a decade, she led the grassroots effort to pass Vermont’s Medical Aid in Dying law, which was passed in 2013. Since then, Dr. Barnard has consulted with hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and physicians on education, access, and implementation of that bill. In 2019, her work on the Medical Aid in Dying law led to her service as Expert Witness in legislative efforts to develop similar laws in Hawaii and New York. Her ongoing advocacy for patient-centered palliative care continues to inspire and teach physicians and medical students alike. In 2021, The Vermont Academy of Family Physicians named her the Family Medicine Physician of the year.

Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PHD, HEC-C is considered a foremost expert on medical law and clinical ethics. He focuses on patient rights and healthcare decision making, especially at the end of life. A fellow of the Hastings Center and previously both a Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Health Law, Policy, and Ethics at the University of Ottawa, and a visiting scholar at the Brocher Foundation in Switzerland. Pope is now a Professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota. While Professor Pope serves in a range of consulting capacities, he has been particularly influential through extensive high-impact scholarship. Ranked among the Top 20 most cited health law scholars in the United States and the Top 50 in the world, Pope has over 250 law, medicine, and bioethics publications. Prior to joining academia, Professor Pope practiced at Arnold & Porter and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Pope earned a JD and PhD from Georgetown University.