Views from the end: Lynda Bluestein, medical aid in dying, and the importance of humor every day
We first met Lynda Shannon Bluestein when she was in palliative care back in May of 2022.
She was fighting for medical aid in dying (MAID) to be legalized in Connecticut. Frustrated, she sued Vermont to allow non-residents of the state to use its MAID laws.
In the meantime, she worked to install "wind phones'' in Connecticut, eventually starting a nonprofit called Lynda's Phones. An idea originating in Japan, old rotary phones are installed in public spaces which people can use to imagine that they are speaking to loved ones who have died.
Because of her lawsuit, Vermont became the first state in the country to change its law to allow terminally ill people from out of state to use its medical aid in dying law.
Lynda died in Concord, Vermont, on January 4, 2024.
Correction: A previous version of this episode incorrectly reported the town where Bluestein died. It was Concord, Vermont. Not Brattleboro. The episode has been updated.
GUESTS:
Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free