07 Aug Press Release Announcing Lynda S. Bluestein to Receive Completed Life Pioneer Award
The Completed Life Initiative is thrilled to announce that Lynda S. Bluestein, a longtime resident of Connecticut, will be the first recipient of the Completed Life Pioneer Award, which will be presented at our Film Festival on August 19th, 2023.
The Completed Life Initiative established this award to honor an individual who has successfully advocated to expand a person’s ability to direct their end-of-life care; and who has, by their courageous example, empowered all individuals to live a full and complete life. Ms. Bluestein is a true pioneer.
ABOUT PIONEER AWARD RECIPIENT LYNDA S. BLUESTEIN
In March 2023, Ms. Bluestein successfully sued the state of Vermont to lift its residency requirements regarding Medical Aid-in-Dying, and was for a time the only out-of-state resident permitted to access aid-in-dying in Vermont. By May 2nd, 2023, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed House Bill 190 into law, declaring Vermont to be the first state in the U.S. to expand Medical Aid-in-Dying services to qualifying patients, regardless of the state in which they legally reside.
Ms. Bluestein has terminal cancer and said regarding the ruling, “The importance of the peace of mind knowing that I will now face fewer obstacles in accessing the autonomy, control, and choice in this private, sacred and very personal decision about the end of my life is enormous.”
You can read further about Ms. Bluestein in the New York Times and listen to her tell her own story on the Voices of the Completed Life Podcast.
ABOUT OUR FOUNDER
Faith Sommerfield established the Completed Life Initiative in late 2019. She died peacefully at the time of her choosing in the Fall of 2022. Her vision for the Initiative was to leave an impact for the greater good by promoting conversation, authentic understanding, and legislation that empowers people to face their death with self-determination and, above all else, dignity. She was grateful to have a voluntary death when she believed her life had been completed.
