So's the Senate gonna pass a bill next week letting terminally ill Vermonters end their own lives?
That's a damn good question!
Thankfully for you, Seven Days has been trolling the halls of the Statehouse haranguing your state senators, trying to figure out where they stand.
Our vote count right now? We think 12.75 senators are ready to back the bill — called 'death with dignity' by supporters and 'physician-assisted suicide' by opponents — and 13.25 are against it. Another four senators in the 30-member body are firmly undecided.
And then there's Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, an opponent of the bill, who would break a tie. So that means supporters need to get a solid 16 votes, while opponents need just 15 nay-sayers. With a test vote slated for next Wednesday and a final vote likely to fall on Thursday, that gives advocates on either side of the issue less than a week to lobby their hearts out.
So who are the persuadables?
Let's start with that fraction: