Medical Aid in Dying passes Assembly, awaits Senate vote
Democratic Lawmakers and advocates are closing in on the votes needed to pass Medical Aid in Dying, a long-lingering measure that would allow doctors to prescribe euthanizing medication to people with terminal illnesses.
The legislation passed the Assembly at the end of April, but 32 votes are needed to pass the measure in the Senate. The Senate has 26 co-sponsors on its bill, but state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who is sponsoring it, said he is hopeful they will be successful in securing the remaining votes to pass the chamber.
If it passes into law, New York would become the 11th state to legalize some form of assisted suicide. The Catholic Church and other religious groups have strongly opposed the measure. Republicans sided with them, arguing that legalizing prescriptions for suicide is a slippery slope.
Advocates for and against the measure visited the Capitol last week, aiming to either strike down the measure or secure the final votes needed to pass. Hoylman-Sigal said he wasn't surprised by the presence of advocates lobbying against his bill.
'No one thought we would be a year ago, much less a few weeks ago,' Hoylman-Sigal told POLITICO. 'This issue isn't going away, just like terminal illnesses are not going away, and death itself impacts all of us.'
'If you don't want to end your life in a planned sequential process that involves ingesting medication when you've been given a terminal illness of six months or fewer with your family and friends surrounding you as you head off into the other world, then don't do it,' Holyman-Sigal said of the opposition.
The Assembly's final vote was 81-67, with no Republicans supporting the bill. A sizable majority of Democrats expressed support, but some religious members and others who spoke about a lack of equitable access to health care joined the opposition.
ON THE AGENDA:
— Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Drug Utilization Review Board will meet.
MAKING ROUNDS:
— Sandra Scott was appointed CEO of One Brooklyn Health by the health system's board of trustees, and Arthur Gianelli will serve as president and chief transformation officer. Scott has served as interim CEO since January 2024. Gianelli previously served as president of Mount Sinai Morningside hospital and chief transformation officer.
— Joseph Tomaino has joined the board of the Nassau Health Care Corporation. He is currently CEO of Grassi Healthcare Advisors, LLC.
GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com and Katelyn Cordero at kcordero@politico.com.
Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories.
What you may have missed
— A citywide doula initiative spearheaded by Mayor Eric Adams is showing promise in the fight against racial disparities in maternal health outcomes, POLITICO Pro's Maya Kaufman reported.
Black and Hispanic women in the doula initiative saw lower rates of C-sections, preterm births and low birth weights than nonparticipants citywide, according to an audit conducted by city Comptroller Brad Lander's office, which was released Friday. No maternal deaths were identified among the initiative's clients between March 2022 and June 2024.
ODDS AND ENDS
NOW WE KNOW — Tying U.S. drug prices to those abroad could have unintended consequences.
TODAY'S TIP — A doctor shares his science-backed formula for aging better.
STUDY THIS — Via NPR: Many common beauty products contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, according to a study of Black and Latina women in Los Angeles.
WHAT WE'RE READING
— State bets on Medicaid payment shift to fund city public hospitals. (Crain's New York Business)
— Uproar over surgeon general pick exposes MAHA factions among RFK Jr. allies. (Washington Post)
— From pandemic preparedness to precious frozen spit, NIH contract terminations cut deep. (STAT)
Around POLITICO
— Conservatives fret HHS cuts, worrying it undercuts the president's agenda, Amanda Friedman reports.
— Trump transforms congressionally mandated health offices into ghost towns, via Alice Miranda Ollstein and Sophie Gardner.
MISSED A ROUNDUP? Get caught up on the New York Health Care Newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
24 minutes ago
- New York Post
Democrats facing crisis as more than 2M voters leave party in four years: analysis
The Democratic Party is bleeding registered voters, suffering a 4.5 million swing against it that could take years to recover from, according to a new report. Between the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, Democrats lost about 2.1 million voters across the 30 states that track registration by political party, according to a New York Times analysis of data gathered by the L2 tracking firm. Over the same period, the Republican Party gained 2.4 million registered voters. Officially, there are still more registered Democrats than Republicans nationwide, but that number is incomplete because blue states like California and New York allow voters to register by party — as does the District of Columbia — while reliably red states like Texas, Missouri and Ohio do not. Most alarmingly for Democrats, the decline is nationwide, with the US seeing more new voters registering with the GOP in 2024 for the first time in six years. Democrats also saw their registered voter advantage dwindle in four 2024 battleground states — Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — all of which President Trump carried this past Nov. 5. Democrats lost about 2.1 million registered voters in the 30 states that track registration by political party. AP Michael Pruser, who tracks voter registration closely as the director of data science for Decision Desk HQ, warned that the numbers not only help explain Trump's victory last year — in which he became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote in 20 years — but also forecast significant headwinds for Democrats in next year's midterm elections as well as the 2028 presidential vote. 'I don't want to say, 'The death cycle of the Democratic Party,'' Pruser told the Times, 'but there seems to be no end to this.' 'There is no silver lining or cavalry coming across the hill. This is month after month, year after year,' he added. In North Carolina, Democrats lost 115,523 voters between the 2020 and 2024 election, with Republicans gaining more than 140,000 members and erasing the Dems' registration advantage, according to the L2 data. More new voters registered to be Republican than Democrat last year, the first time since 2018. Michael Nagle Democrats suffered similar losses in Arizona and Pennsylvania, while in Nevada — a state whose politics were long dominated by the Las Vegas-based Culinary Workers Union — the share of registered Democrats suffered the second-steepest plunge of those states measured between 2020 and 2024. (Only deep-red West Virginia saw more precipitous losses.). Even Democratic bastions like New York and California were not safe from voter erosion, with Dems losing 305,922 registered voters in the Empire State in between the two elections. In California, Democrats lost 680,556 voters between 2020 and 2024. All in all, Democrats went from enjoying an advantage of nearly 11 percentage points over Republicans in registered voter numbers in 2020 to just over six percentage points across the 30 states and DC in 2024, the Times found. Experts believe that the fall of new Democratic registrations can be linked to the growing number of voters choosing to be independents or unaffiliated, a trend that is sapping both parties' rolls. In 2018, more than one-third (34%) of new voter registrations nationwide were Democrats, while registered Republicans made up just 20% of new voters. As of last year, however, Republicans had erased that gap, with party supporters making up 29% of new voters, while Democrats made up 26% of new voters.
Newsweek
24 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Gavin Newsom's Redistricting Ballot Measure Chances of Passing—New Poll
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. California Governor Gavin Newsom's redistricting ballot measure has support from a majority of the state's voters, according to a new poll. Newsweek reached out to Newsom and the California GOP for comment via email. Why It Matters The redistricting arms race between California, Texas and other states could have key implications for the midterms. Texas, with the support of President Donald Trump, first announced plans to redraw its map to become more favorable to Republicans and thwart losses in the midterms, but Newsom has warned California could redraw its map to benefit Democrats in return. California Democrats' ability to do so may hinge on the outcome of a ballot measure Newsom announced last week that would allow a new map drafted by legislators to temporarily replace the boundaries drawn up by the state's independent redistricting committee following the 2020 census. If the ballot measure is successful, it could neutralize efforts from Texas Republicans. But if it fails, Republicans may be able to net several seats in not only Texas, but also other GOP states like Indiana and Missouri. What to Know A new poll from Newsom's pollster, reported by Axios, suggests a majority of voters are prepared to support the ballot measure. The poll, conducted by David Binder, showed that 57 percent of California voters are in support of the proposal. Only 35 percent were opposed to it, while 8 percent remained undecided. Among Democrats, the ballot measure had 84 percent support, while only 13 percent opposed it. Among Republicans, 79 percent were opposed, the poll found, according to Axios. California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles on August 14, 2025. California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles on August 14, poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters from August 10 to August 14, 2025, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. California remains a solidly blue state where Democrats handily outnumber Republicans. Former Vice President Kamala Harris carried it by 20 points last November, so Democrats are hopeful this ballot measure will fall on partisan lines. But the state has an independent redistricting community that was passed by voters and remains popular. A Politico poll released last week found that 64 percent of California voters support keeping the commission, while only 36 percent support returning redistricting authority to the state legislature. Newsom, who is viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has cast the ballot measure as a temporary measure, which would no longer be in effect after the 2030 census, which is only in response to Texas' redistricting efforts. It would not go into effect unless Texas or other Republican states first redraw their lines. Republicans, however, have described it as a power grab that violates the will of Californians. What People Are Saying David Binder wrote in the poll, per Axios: "Voter trends on this measure closely mirror the presidential election results of November 2024, in which Kamala Harris defeated Donald Trump in California by 58% to 38%. Poll results indicate that Proposition 50 will fall along similar partisan lines." Representative Kevin Kiley, a California Republican, wrote to X on Tuesday: "Newsom is overthrowing the Redistricting Commission in order to make California 'a whole lot bluer.' To accomplish this, his proposal expressly overrides the entire State Constitution. Partisan gerrymandering will become the supreme law of the land." Governor Newsom wrote to X on Tuesday: "Unlike Texas, we're not following @realDonaldTrump's orders to quietly try to redistrict our way out of losing the next election. In California, we're working transparently to respond if Texas enacts new maps — and we'll give the power to the people to make our final decision." What Happens Next Voters will make their decision about the redistricting plan in November. Both Democrats and Republicans will spend the coming months making their case to voters on whether the ballot measure should pass. Meanwhile, the redistricting war continues across the country, with Trump urging Texas Republicans to pass their plan "ASAP."
Boston Globe
24 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Trump calls on Federal Reserve official to resign after ally accuses her of mortgage fraud
Pulte also charged in his letter that Cook has listed her condo in Atlanta, Georgia, for rent. Mortgages for homes used as principal residences typically carry lower interest rates than properties that are purchased to rent, Pulte's letter said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The allegation represents another front in the Trump administration's attack on the Fed, which has yet to cut its key interest rate as Trump has demanded. If Cook were to step down, then the White House could nominate a replacement. And Trump has said he would only appoint people who would support lower rates. Advertisement The more members of the Fed's governing board that Trump can appoint, the more control he will be able to assert over the Fed, which has long been considered independent from day-to-day politics. Trump will be able to replace Chair Jerome Powell in May 2026, when Powell's term expires. Yet 12 members of the Fed's interest-rate setting committee have a vote on whether to raise or lower interest rates, so even replacing the Chair doesn't guarantee that Fed policy will shift the way Trump wants. Advertisement All seven members of the Fed's governing board, however, are able to vote on rate decisions. The other five voters include the president of the Fed's New York branch and a rotating group of four of the presidents of the Fed's other 11 regional branches. Trump appointed two members of the Fed's board in his first term, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman. Both dissented July 30 from the central bank's decision to keep its rate unchanged in favor of a rate cut. Another Fed governor, Adriana Kugler, stepped down unexpectedly Aug. 1, and Trump has appointed one of his economic advisers, Stephen Miran, to fill out the remainder of her term until January. If Trump is able to replace Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Fed's board, as well as Kugler and Powell, that would give him a clear majority on the board of governors. Powell, however, could stay on the board after finishing his term as chair next May. The Federal Reserve declined to comment on the accusation. Trump has for months demanded that the Federal Reserve reduce the short-term interest rate it controls, which currently stands at about 4.3%. He has also repeatedly insulted Powell, who has said that the Fed would like to see more evidence of how the economy evolves in response to Trump's sweeping tariffs before making any moves. Powell has also said the duties threaten to raise inflation and slow growth. Advertisement Trump says that a lower rate would reduce the government's borrowing costs on $37 trillion in debt and boost the housing market by reducing mortgage rates. Yet mortgage borrowing costs do not always follow the Fed's rate decisions. The Trump administration has made similar claims of mortgage fraud against Democrats that Trump has attacked, including California Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
