New York Senate Passes Bill to Allow Terminally Ill Residents to Choose Medical Aid in Dying
Those eligible must be diagnosed with a terminal illness that's medically determined to "produce death within six months"
The bill now goes to Governor Kathy Hochul for her signature but it's unclear if she will sign itThe New York State Senate has passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act, which allows those who are terminally ill to choose to end their life. The bill now goes to Governor Kathy Hochul for her signature.
If the bill passes, it would make New York the twelfth state to allow terminally ill people to choose medical aid in dying.
'It isn't about ending a person's life, but shortening their death,' State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, one of the bill's sponsors, told The New York Times.
The bill defines those eligible as being mentally competent and having a 'terminal illness' that 'has been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, produce death within six months.' Those who are eligible for medical aid in dying can request, in writing, a lethal dose of medication that they would self-administer.
The request must be witnessed by two people who are not blood relatives, or who would 'be entitled to any portion of the estate of the patient upon death.'
'This is about personal autonomy,' Hoylman-Sigal told the NYT. 'This is about liberty. This is about exercising one's own freedom to control one's own body.'
Opponents like state Sen. George Borrello have referred to the bill as 'state-authorized suicide' to CBS News.
As Gothamist reports, it's unclear whether or not Hochul will sign the bill into law; a spokesperson for the governor has said she will review the legislation. In a statement on the passing the bill, Hoylman-Sigal said 70% of the state's residents approve the legislation, which will "finally give New Yorkers access to this compassionate and dignified end of life care option.'
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