Three states have laws on the books that provide a right to die, including Vermont, Washington and Oregon, with a recent case making the news in Vermont. See
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2015/02/10/johnson-woman-believed-to-be-first-vermonter-to-use-end-of-life-law?utm_source=Seven+Days+Email+Newsletters&utm_campaign=68fba810e0-Daily_7_Tuesday_0210152_10_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_24eb556688-68fba810e0-296169889.
This is an issue that Johnson Law Group clients are increasingly concerned about as they undertake planning for life transitions. Nationally, the issue has taken on greater prominence after Brittany Maynard's well-publicized decision last year to move to Oregon and end her life due to an inoperable brain tumor. Diane Rehm, the NPR host, also has focused on the issue, after having suffered through her husband's difficult death from Parkinson's Disease. Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/npr-host-diane-rehm-emerges-as-a-key-force-in-the-right-to-die-debate/2015/02/14/12b72230-ad50-11e4-9c91-e9d2f9fde644_story.html 
In the aftermath of the tragedy that unfolded in France, David Brooks has a recent interesting piece in The New York Times that makes the point that while law can protect fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, it is a somewhat rigid mechanism. Brooks argues that social mannerisms can be more flexible in managing the tension between tolerance for offensive speech and maintaining some level of social decency. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/opinion/david-brooks-i-am-not-charlie-hebdo.html?_r=1 Ever wonder about the comments that follow online articles in the press? Here's one opinion expressed in
The Washington Post: Anne Applebaum writes... "If you are reading this article on the Internet, stop afterward and think about it. Then scroll to the bottom and read the commentary. If there isn’t any, try a Web site that allows comments, preferably one that is very political. Then recheck your views. Chances are your thinking will have changed, especially if you have read a series of insulting, negative or mocking remarks — as so often you will."
Read more at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/anne-applebaum-another-reason-to-avoid-reading-the-comments/2014/11/28/b37a9f30-7722-11e4-a755-e32227229e7b_story.html
