New York State Passes MAID legislation: Awaiting Governor’s Signature Hochul under Pressure
NEW YORK – Sponsors and supporters in Albany celebrated the passage of Medical Aid in Dying in New York, making it the 12th state in the U.S. and 13th jurisdiction. It now moves to the Governor’s desk for signature at the end of the year, after rules and regulations for implementation have been created.
The legislation was first introduced in 2016. It has taken the persistent effort of champions State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D, WFP-Manhattan), Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (sponsors), Assemblymember Amy Paulin, Assembly Sponsor of Medical Aid in Dying, Senator Samra G. Brouk, Chair of the Senate Committee on Mental Health, and many others including constituent testimony and support.
The law is similar to all other state legislative acts for Medical aid in dying, allowing terminally ill adults – those with irreversible and incurable illnesses or diseases – with a prognosis of six months or less to live, who have been found by two doctors to be mentally capable to make an informed decision to obtain a prescription that would put them to sleep and peacefully end their lives.
The Medical Aid in Dying Act has been endorsed by the Medical Society of the State of New York, New York State Academy of Family Physicians, the New York State Psychiatric Association (NYSPA), the New York State Nurses Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, as well as numerous other medical, legal and civic organizations.
The Governor faces strong pressure from opposition groups including the Catholic diocese, Disability rights groups and those who would perceive MAID as suicide, rather than the compassionate end of suffering for those facing inevitable death from untreatable illness.