Overview
- Gov. Kathy Hochul reached an agreement with legislative leaders on a Medical Aid in Dying bill and has not yet signed it.
- The measure would allow mentally competent, terminally ill residents expected to live less than six months to obtain a prescription to end their lives.
- Negotiated safeguards include a New York residency requirement, a five-day waiting period before filling the prescription, a mandatory mental-health evaluation, and opt-outs for religiously affiliated health facilities.
- Hochul has said she will sign the bill in January, and the law would take effect six months after enactment.
- Critics cite ethical concerns and point to international and state data, noting Canada’s assisted deaths exceed 5 percent of mortality and Oregon’s 2021 report lists cases involving nonterminal conditions.