Hochul announces medical aid in dying will be available to terminally ill in NYS

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Governor Hochul today announced an agreement with the Legislature to make medical aid in dying available to terminally ill New Yorkers with less than six months to live.

This comes after careful reflection and deliberation with the bill’s sponsors, advocacy organizations, and most importantly, everyday New Yorkers who shared personal experiences with the Governor. The bill, with the agreed-upon amendments, will be passed and signed in January, and the law will go into effect six months later.

“New York has long been a beacon of freedom, and now it is time we extend that freedom to terminally ill New Yorkers who want the right to die comfortably and on their own terms,” said Governor Hochul. “My mother died of ALS, and I am all too familiar with the pain of seeing someone you love suffer and being powerless to stop it. Although this was an incredibly difficult decision, I ultimately determined that with the additional guardrails agreed upon with the legislature, this bill would allow New Yorkers to suffer less–to shorten not their lives, but their deaths.”

The bill, as passed by the Legislature, had a number of protections in place to ensure that no patient was coerced into utilizing medical aid in dying and no doctor or religiously affiliated health facility was forced to offer medical aid in dying.

With today’s agreement, the Governor announces a number of additional guardrails that the Legislature has agreed to enact aimed at ensuring the integrity of the patient’s decision and the preparedness of medical institutions to appropriately administer medical aid in dying. Today’s agreement memorializes a shared path forward on this bill, with additional key guardrails, including:

• A mandatory waiting period of 5 days between when a prescription is written and filled.
• An oral request by the patient for medical aid in dying must be recorded by video or audio.
• A mandatory mental health evaluation of the patient seeking medical aid in dying by a psychologist or psychiatrist.
• A prohibition against anyone who may benefit financially from the death of a patient from being eligible to serve as a witness to the oral request or an interpreter for the patient.
• Limiting the availability of medical aid in dying to New York residents.
• Requiring that the initial evaluation of a patient by a physician be in person.
• Allowing religiously-oriented home hospice providers to opt out of offering medical aid in dying.
• Ensuring that a violation of the law is defined as professional misconduct under the Education Law.
• Extending the effective date of the bill to six months after signing to allow the Department of Health to put into place regulations required to implement the law while also ensuring that health care facilities can properly prepare and train staff for compliance.

Senior Campaign Director for Compassion & Choices NY/NJ Corinne Carey said, “This law will represent the culmination of more than 10 years of determined, consistent effort by hundreds, no, thousands, of New Yorkers who advocated for this law… This law is about compassion, family, love, and respect for bodily autonomy. New Yorkers deserve nothing less. I am grateful that Governor Hochul listened to the voices of people whose lives and deaths were directly affected.”

Editor’s Note: Rob Ortt, Republican leader in the State Senate, issued this statement:

“The Governor continues to make poor decisions that endanger New Yorkers. Her latest act legalizes assisted suicide, allowing some of our most vulnerable populations to end their lives under the guise of compassion, with limited oversight.

“True compassion means investing in hospice, palliative care, and mental health services so patients and families can face end-of-life challenges with dignity. New York should be strengthening care and improving the lives of New Yorkers struggling with serious health issues.”