By David Farmer,Staff Writer

AUGUSTA – Arthur Boivin, who became a political activist not of his own choosing last year, scored a big victory Thursday.

The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill that would make it easier for people to approach death on their own terms by simplifying the rules regarding do-not-resuscitate orders.

The bill, L.D. 1763, now heads to the full Senate and House for consideration.

The measure was prompted by Boivin of Rumford, who was thrust into the give-and-take world of the state Legislature during the death of his wife, Lyanne, last spring. He became determined to protect other families from the turmoil that engulfed his wife’s last hours.

In the days before her death, Lyanne Boivin, who was suffering from stomach cancer, signed a living will that she thought would enforce her wishes in the event that her health failed. She did not, however, sign a state-approved DNR order, which also requires a doctor’s approval.

Boivin was left to navigate the legal hurdles surrounding the DNR at the time of a deep personal crisis. In the aftermath of his grief and anger, Boivin began his crusade to change the law.

“I am no stranger to death, as I have dealt with many forms of it many times in my 33 years in the fire service, but I encountered nothing to prepare me for what I had to face with the bureaucracy involved in one’s dying,” Boivin said earlier this month.

Working with state Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Dixfield, who sponsored the legislation, Boivin has stalked the halls of the State House, visiting the capital no fewer than 10 times.

As the Judiciary Committee gathered for its work session on his bill, Boivin and his brother Eugene worked the corridor like professional deal makers, commanding the attention of legislators and staffers alike.

“I’m very encouraged,” Boivin said. “We’re recovering one of our most basic rights, which is the right to choose. No longer do you need a doctor’s permission to die.”

Bryant agreed, predicting that a unanimous committee report would likely translate into passage by the full House and Senate.

“I think we’ve come up with a good resolve,” Bryant said. “It makes the system clearer, stronger and it gives us a chance to continue to improve.”

Specifically, the legislation changes the rules that emergency medical personnel must follow when they encounter a do-not-resuscitate order. It simplifies the form into a single sheet and drops the requirement that a doctor write the order, while ensuring informed consent for the decision to refuse potentially lifesaving treatments. It also directs that the form be widely available, including in a downloadable format from the Internet.

The legislation also requires the director of Maine Emergency Medical Services to report back to the committee in January 2007 after consultation with interested parties as part of a working group on the changes in the law and to make recommendations for other changes.

“I think we’ve come up with a solution that works for everyone,” Bryant said. “We would have gone further, but we felt this was a far as we could go in this time frame.”

For Boivin and his bill, one big hurdle has been cleared, but more work remains. His intention is to stay involved and to make sure his voice is heard as work continues on advanced directives and do-not-resuscitate decisions.

“This here is important to me,” Boivin said. “And I’m up to it.”

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