Third US state opts for euthanisia VERMONT has become the third US state to legalise physician-assisted suicide. Vermont follows the states of Oregon and Washington in legalising the practice but is the first to do it by legislative process rather than through a voter-initiated referendum. Under the Vermont law, terminally ill patients who are given no more than six months to live can ask their doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of drugs to hasten their death. Several safeguards are built into the law. These include a requirement for two medical opinions, the option of a psychiatric examination and a 17-day waiting period before a life-ending prescription can be filled. A report by think tank Australia 21 released in April found that politicians can no longer ignore assisted suicide for fear of political backlash. It cited research that clearly showed public opinion is strongly in favour of assisted death and instead of being a vote loser, political advocacy for assisted death may actually be a vote winner. It also found there is abundant evidence from overseas, including the US, that safeguards can successfully put in place to protect vulnerable people such as the disabled and that the strong opposition voiced by religious groups is not a justification in denying choice for those who aren't religious. In 2009, Vermont became the first state to legalise same-sex marriages. It now has been approved in 12 US states. But it also has one of the fastest-aging populations in the United States. By 2030, one in four Vermonters will be 65 years of age or older, according to University of Vermont economist Art Woolf. A Pew Research Center poll found that 84 per cent of Americans support allowing a terminally ill adult patient to decide if they want to be kept alive.