New York is close to legalizing medically assisted suicide after Gov. Kathy Hochul reached an agreement with state legislative leaders.
On Dec. 17, Hochul announced she had reached an agreement with state leaders to advance a bill allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives using prescribed medication. In an op-ed titled “Why I’m supporting medical aid in dying,” she outlined her support for the measure and the safeguards she intends to include before signing it into law.
“Proudly, New York has long led the fight championing the rights of individuals, from civil rights to labor rights, LGBTQ rights, women’s
rights, and reproductive rights,” Hochul wrote. “In the true spirit of this country, government has a responsibility to protect, not interfere, with an individual’s deeply personal decisions.”“This is the context in which I have considered the Medical Aid in Dying Act, a bill to allow suffering terminally ill individuals with less than six months left to live the right to medical aid to speed up the inevitable,” she added.
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act would allow terminally ill patients given six months or less to request life-ending medication, subject to multiple safeguards. The measure requires written requests
signed by two witnesses, approval from both an attending and consulting physician, confirmation from a doctor of the six-month prognosis, and a mental health evaluation to ensure the patient is acting voluntarily.The bill also includes a mandatory five-day waiting period, written and recorded oral consent, allows religious-affiliated outpatient facilities to opt out, and limits the right to New York residents. Hochul, who is Catholic, said her decision followed conversations with New Yorkers enduring severe pain and suffering and their families, alongside consideration of objections from people of various faiths who believe intentionally ending a life violates “the sanctity of life.”
“I was taught that God is merciful and compassionate, and so must we be,” she wrote. “This includes permitting a merciful option to those facing the unimaginable and searching for comfort in their final months in this life.”Hochul closed her op-ed by addressing opponents of the bill, emphasizing that it reflects the exercise of Americans’ free will.
“I hope those who are disappointed by this outcome know this was a difficult decision for me personally. It was not made lightly. It was guided by a genuine and deeply held belief that government must respect the rights and will of the
people it serves,” she wrote. “I hope that those who oppose this legislation will be able to look with compassion on those who may make a choice they would not make for themselves. And isn’t that, at heart, what the choice and freedom our young nation promised its people 250 years ago is all about?”RELATED CONTENT: Depo-Provera Risks and Racial Disparity: As Brain Tumor Lawsuits Mount, Critics Recall History Of Targeting Black Women