The measure passed the Vermont House 75-65. Gov. Pete Shumlin, who acts as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, has voiced strong support for the bill. If he signs it, Vermont will become the first eastern state permitting doctors and ill patients to choose a path to death through lethal medication.

Oregon and Washington both passed aid-in-dying measures through ballot referendums. Montana’s law was put in place through a court order.

Vermont’s law would contain multiple regulations and safeguards against abuse, including requiring the patient to request three times – twice orally, and once in writing in the presence of witnesses – a lethal dose of drugs.