New York is set to become the latest state to legalize medically assisted suicide for the terminally ill under a deal reached between the governor and state legislative leaders announced Wednesday.
In an op-ed in the Albany Times Union, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she will sign the proposal after she made an agreement with lawmakers to include a series of “guardrails” in the measure.
Hochul, a Catholic, said she came to the decision after hearing from New Yorkers in the “throes of pain and suffering,” as well as their children, while also considering opposition from “individuals of many faiths who believe that deliberately shortening one’s 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.”
A dozen other states and the District of Columbia have laws to allow medically assisted suicide, according to advocates, including a law in Illinois signed last week that goes into effect next year.
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act requires that a terminally ill person who is expected to die within six month make a written request for life-ending drugs. Two witnesses would have to sign the request to ensure that the patient is not being coerced. The request would then have to be approved by the person’s attending physician as well as a consulting physician.
The governor said the bill’s sponsors and legislative leaders have agreed to add provisions to require confirmation from a medical doctor that the person “truly had less than six months to live,” along with confirmation from a psychologist or psychiatrist that the patient is capable of making the decision and is not under duress.
Hochul also said the bill will include a mandatory five-day waiting period as well as a written and recorded oral request to “confirm free will is present.” Outpatient facilities associated with religious hospitals may elect not to offer the option.
She added that she wants the bill to apply only to New York residents. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that a similar law in New Jersey applies only to residents of that state and not those from beyond its borders.
Hochul said she will sign the bill into law next year, with her changes weaved into the proposal. It will go into effect six months after it is signed.
The legislation was first introduced in 2016 but stalled for years amid opposition from New York State Catholic Conference and other groups. The Catholic organization argued the measure would devalue human life and undermine the physician’s role as a healer.
In a statement after the governor’s announcement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the New York’s bishops said Hochul’s position “signals our government’s abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens, telling people who are sick or disabled that suicide in their case is not only acceptable, but is encouraged by our elected leaders.”
New York lawmakers approved the legislation during their regulation session earlier this year. Supporters said it would reduce suffering for terminally ill people and let them die on their own terms.
