Gov. Kathy Hochul says she will sign the Medical Aid in Dying Act, making New York the 13th state to allow physician-assisted death.
The Democratic governor wrote Wednesday in the Albany Times Union that she’s approving the legislation after state lawmakers agreed to enact additional safeguards. They include residency restrictions, a five-day waiting period, and a requirement that patients record their oral request to end their lives.
Hochul wrote she watched her mother die slowly of ALS, a debilitating nerve disease. The governor said she weighed the state’s tradition of fostering individual rights against her own religious beliefs.
“I was taught that God is merciful and compassionate, and so must we be,” Hochul wrote. “This includes permitting a merciful option to those facing the unimaginable and searching for comfort in their final months in this life.”
Gothamist first reported her push for additional restrictions in the legislation earlier this month. State lawmakers approved the Medical Aid in Dying Act in June; they will vote on a separate bill with the amendments Hochul demanded next month, she said.
The governor’s decision followed months of lobbying from supporters and opponents of the measure. Terminally ill patients wrote letters to her describing their desire for autonomy and an end to suffering.
“The governor has shown us her deep compassion and love for New Yorkers,” said state Assemblymember Amy Paulin, a Democrat from Scarsdale who cosponsored the bill.
Groups opposing the measure, including the Roman Catholic Church, organized candlelight vigils outside the state Executive Mansion in Albany and in other cities. They say physician-assisted death is morally wrong and warn the law will have unintended consequences.
“Assisted suicide laws send a dangerous and discriminatory message: that some lives are less worth protecting than others,” the New York State Alliance Against Assisted Suicide, an advocacy coalition, stated. “They place subtle but real pressure on people who may already feel like a burden due to illness, disability, isolation, or lack of adequate care. No amount of legislative tinkering can eliminate the risks of coercion, misdiagnosis, untreated depression, or inaccurate prognoses — all of which could lead people to end their lives prematurely.”
Under the bill as passed, a patient must initiate the request for life-ending medication. Two physicians must then certify that the patient has an irreversible, incurable illness or condition with a prognosis of six months or less to live.
Hochul wrote she wants an additional requirement of a psychologist or psychiatrist stating the patient is capable of making the decision and not under duress. Two witnesses must sign off on the requests, but they cannot be related to the patient, work for a nursing home where the patient receives care or be in line for an inheritance.
Patients are then given a lethal dose of drugs to self-administer.
“The Medical Aid in Dying Act will afford terminally ill New Yorkers the right to spend their final days not under sterile hospital lights but with sunlight streaming through their bedroom window,” Hochul wrote. “The right to spend their final days not hearing the droning hum of hospital machines but instead the laughter of their grandkids echoing in the next room. The right to tell their family they love them and be able to hear those precious words in return.”
It’s unclear when the law will take effect. Medical Aid in Dying is already legal in 12 states, including New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.
