Medical Aid in Dying: Gov. Hochul signs bill allowing life-ending medication for terminally ill patients in New York

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday signed the Medical Aid in Dying bill into law, making New York the 13th state where life-ending medication can be made available to some terminally ill residents.

When the law takes effect in six months, "a mentally competent, terminally ill adult" who has six months or less to live can request a self-administered drug from their physician to "hasten" their death, according to the language in the legislation.

Republican members of the state Assembly expressed concern that patients could be coerced into turning towards the life-ending measure, Newsday previously reported. The Assembly approved amendments to the bill on Wednesday 85-60. The state Senate passed the amendments the same day 34-28.

The final draft of the legislation included "additional guardrails that will make sure people won’t be taken advantage of, while still ensuring terminally ill New Yorkers have the choice to die comfortably and on their own terms," according to a news release from Hochul's office.

"Our state will always stand firm in safeguarding New Yorkers' freedoms and right to bodily autonomy, which includes the right for the terminally ill to peacefully and comfortably end their lives with dignity and compassion," Hochul said in a statement. "This journey was deeply personal for me. Witnessing my mother's suffering from ALS was an excruciating experience, knowing there was nothing I could do to alleviate the pain of someone I loved."

She added: "New Yorkers deserve the choice to endure less suffering, not by shortening their lives, but by shortening their deaths — I firmly believe we made the right decision."

A patient’s request for medical aid in dying must be made orally and recorded by audio or video, according to the governor’s release. They must then be evaluated by a psychologist or psychiatrist. Those who make the request must wait five days "between when a prescription is written and filled," the release said.

Medical providers can refuse to participate, according to the legislation.

For advocates of the legislation, the law marks a step "towards fairness, choice, peace, and dignity for all of those watching loved ones struggle with a terminal illness," Mandi Zucker, the executive director of the nonprofit End of Life Choices New York, said.

Democratic Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who sponsored the legislation, described Friday’s signing as "a historic day." The law provides New Yorkers with "the dignity they deserve at the most vulnerable moment in their lives," she added.

"My sister died a horrific death from ovarian cancer, and in her final days she was in pain so overwhelming that she begged for death," Paulin said in a statement. "Her experience is, tragically, the story of so many others. Most people will never choose medical aid in dying, but they want the reassurance of having it as a compassionate safeguard that offers comfort even if it is never used."