ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday she has reached an agreement with state legislative leaders to approve a bill that would give terminally ill patients the legal ability to end their lives with prescription drugs.
Hochul said in an op-ed in the Albany Times Union that she supports the proposal but has reached a deal with lawmakers to include “guardrails” in the measure before she signs it into law.
Hochul, a Catholic, said she made the decision after listening to New Yorkers and their children who were in “pain and suffering” and also taking into account objections from “people of many faiths who believe that intentionally shortening life violates the sanctity of life.”
“I was taught that God is merciful and compassionate and that we must be too,” she wrote. “This includes providing compassionate options for those facing the unimaginable and seeking comfort in their final months.”
A dozen other states and the District of Columbia allow medically assisted suicide, according to advocates. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Friday that would allow the state’s terminally ill residents to choose to end their lives.
New York’s Medical Assistance in Dying Act requires terminally ill patients who are expected to die within six months to make a written request for life-ending drugs. Two witnesses must sign the request to ensure the patient is not being coerced. The request must then be approved by the person’s treating physician as well as a consulting physician.
The governor said the bill’s sponsors and legislative leaders have agreed to add provisions that would require a doctor to confirm that a patient “truly has less than six months to live” and a psychologist or psychiatrist to confirm that the patient is competent to make decisions and is not being coerced.
Hochul also said the bill would include a mandatory five-day waiting period, as well as written and recorded oral requests to “confirm the existence of free will.” Outpatient facilities associated with religious hospitals may choose not to offer this option.
She added, “This is a right that only New Yorkers have.”
Hochul’s spokesman said the governor will sign the bill into law next year and incorporate her changes into the proposal.
The legislation was first proposed in 2016 but stalled for years amid opposition from the New York State Catholic Conference and other groups. The Catholic organization argued that the measure would devalue human life and undermine doctors’ role as healers.
After the governor’s announcement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and New York’s bishops said in a statement that Hochul’s stance “symbolizes our government’s abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens, telling those who are sick or disabled that their suicide is not only acceptable but encouraged by our elected leaders.”
New York lawmakers approved the legislation during a regulatory session earlier this year. Supporters say it would reduce suffering for terminally ill patients and allow them to die on their own terms.
