New York Moves to Allow Terminally Ill People to Die on Their Own Terms

New York Times

4 hours ago

The New York State Senate approved a bill on Monday that would allow people facing terminal diagnoses to end their lives on their own terms, which the bill's proponents say would grant a measure of autonomy to New Yorkers in their final days.
The bill, which passed the State Assembly earlier this year, will now head to the desk of Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, for her signature. It is unclear whether she plans to sign it; a spokesman for her office said she would review it.
Eleven states and the District of Columbia have passed laws permitting so-called medical aid in dying. The practice is also available in several European countries and in Canada, which recently broadened its criteria to extend the option to people with incurable chronic illnesses and disabilities.
The bill in New York is written more narrowly and would apply only to people who have an incurable and irreversible illness, with six months or less to live. Proponents say that distinction is key.
'It isn't about ending a person's life, but shortening their death,' said State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Manhattan Democrat and one of the sponsors of the bill. It passed on Monday night by a vote of 35 to 27, mostly along partisan lines.
He framed the measure as a statement of New York's values, citing efforts by Republicans to increase governmental control over people's bodies, including by restricting gender-affirming care and abortion.
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