Latest news with #NewYorkAssembly
New York Post
04-05-2025
- Health
- New York Post
New York, halt assisted suicide — the ‘death cult' won't stop with the terminally ill
New York is poised to join an unholy alliance of US states that let doctors help people kill themselves. It's done under the guise of humanitarian empathy, but in practice it merely cheapens and devalues life. Advocates say that enabling a speedy death is a kindness for those in pain. They claim it'll only be employed in the most devastating of circumstances, where a terminally ill patient has just a short time to live and wishes to 'die with dignity.' These are the same people who want us to kill our babies if they're inconvenient and sterilize our children to placate an adult fantasy that they can swap their sex. That's not humanitarianism, it's selfishness. And so is assisted death. From 1998 to 2020, more than 5,300 Americans died by assisted suicide in Oregon, Washington, DC and Hawaii, three places where it was then legal. A 2022 study found that 95% of them were white, mostly college-educated. Almost all, 85%, had cancer or a neurological disease and were in hospice or palliative care. That's the image the 81 New York Assembly members who voted last week to legalize what they euphemistically call 'Medical Aid in Dying' want you to believe. Yet the experience of Canada paints a far more disturbing picture. When Canada first legalized assisted death in 2016, it was strictly limited to the terminally ill — but that wasn't enough for the suicide advocates, who sued to stretch the rules. Today, Canadians can request MAiD even when 'death is not reasonably foreseeable' — and nearly 50% of those requests come from the poor and the vulnerable. The totals are startling: 10,000 Canadians died by assisted suicide in 2021 alone — the same year the program was opened to those with incurable, but not terminal illnesses. In 2022 the number rose to more than 13,000. One of them, a 51-year-old woman called 'Sophia' in a 2024 report from the Ontario Coroner's Office, chose to die because her chemical sensitivities made life in her apartment unbearable. 'The government sees me as expendable trash, a complainer, useless and a pain in the ass,' Sophia said. An Ontario psychiatrist offered death to a man diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease who had a history of mental illness and drug use. 'You should do the right thing and consider MAiD,' a nurse told Heather Hancock of Alberta, who has cerebral palsy. 'You're being selfish. You're not living, you're merely existing.' The British Columbia oncologist who diagnosed Allison Ducluzeau's abdominal cancer in 2023 offered her death — but refused to authorize surgery or chemotherapy through Canada's single-payer health-care system. She paid for out-of-pocket treatment in the US, and lived. In Quebec, doctors can issue 'advance directives' for dementia patients so they can essentially be euthanized. Now the Dignity with Dying advocacy group wants Canada's program extended to terminally ill 'mature minors' under age 18. By 2027, Canada's mentally ill will become eligible to end their suffering by assisted suicide for that reason alone. Canada's government gone so far as to create a coloring book for children to help adults explain that they're going to kill themselves. It's a death cult, plain and simple. Assisted suicide is the worst idea since child sacrifice. Sacrifice is exactly what it is. We don't want to comfort our sick or pay for their care. We don't want to look in their faces and acknowledge what death is. We're so afraid of confronting the end of life that we want to hasten it as it approaches. Yet the consciousness of death is part of what makes us human. Tending to our dying is an honor — one we were deprived of, and agonized about, during COVID. There's nothing humane about turning our healers into merchants of death, or in giving sick people the idea that killing themselves is their best and noblest option. New York voters must realize that MAiD for the terminally ill is just where it starts. Vermont's law mandated that only state residents could obtain assisted suicide — but in 2023, a Connecticut woman sued and won the right to end her life there. Oregon, too, has abandoned its residency requirement. Just as Canada started with strict limits, whatever boundaries Albany may erect will surely lapse. Each of us gets our short time on Earth with hope for connection to each other, to ourselves, to the universal great beyond in which every culture in some form or another believes. The truth is, no matter what our challenges, we must face every day we're given with as much strength, courage, love and kindness as we can muster. Life is not optional. It is not for us to determine how long our lives get to be, or how short. California, Maine, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, DC and Washington state have fallen for legislation that rejoices in a culture of death. Don't let New York be next. Libby Emmons is the editor-in-chief at the Post Millennial.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NY transparency groups celebrate two 'Sunshine Week' wins
New York state transparency advocates scored a pair of victories in Albany in a week set aside each year to highlight the need for reforms to shine a light on the inner-workings of government. Reinvent Albany joined 18 other watchdog, transparency and journalism groups on Friday in celebrating the approval by the New York Assembly of two bills designed to strengthen the state's Freedom of Information Law. The bill passed by the assembly would require corporations to re-apply for their records to be exempted from FOIL after they are submitted to the state. The piece of legislation would change the current setup, which allows corporations to ask the state to have their records exempted from FOIL permanently. Reinvent Albany and the other groups support change, arguing that the public should have the right to see how much the state pays for services and whether investments of public money in private projects offer adequate returns for taxpayers. The second bill passed by the assembly would require government agencies to report on many FOIL requests they are receiving and closing. Good government advocates argue such a system is needed to enable the public to better understand the state of FOIL in NY and see which agencies are struggling to fill requests. Both bills were approved by the assembly this week, recognized nationwide as Sunshine Week, a collaborative campaign organized by journalists, news outlets, civic organizations and educational groups to highlight the importance of public records and open government. Both measures will require state senate approval and Gov. Kathy Hochul's approval before they can become law. 'Reinvent Albany thanks the New York State Assembly for leading on two bills strengthening the state's Freedom of Information Law. We urge the Senate to pass both of these bills quickly and help persuade the governor to sign them,' the non-profit group said in a press release issued on Friday. Two other FOIL bills still have not passed either house of the state legislature, yet remain on good government groups' list of priorities, including one that would reduce the amount of time agencies are allowed to respond to FOIL requests and another that would strengthen provisions for compensating attorneys that are involved in successful FOIL-related cases.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New York Introduces Bill To Combat Crypto Fraud and Rug Pull Scams, Targeting $51 Billion Annual Losses
New York lawmakers introduced a new bill on March 5 aimed at combating cryptocurrency fraud, particularly rug pulls. Assembly member Clyde Vanel, chair of the New York Assembly's Banks Committee, presented Bill A06515, which seeks to create criminal penalties for fraudulent activities involving cryptocurrencies. The bill is focused on preventing "virtual token fraud," which includes deceptive practices related to cryptocurrencies. If passed, the legislation would introduce new criminal charges to hold perpetrators accountable for scams that harm investors. This proposal comes on the heels of several high-profile incidents involving meme coins. The Libra token, endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei, is one of the most significant examples. Insiders allegedly stole over $107 million in liquidity from the project, causing the token's value to collapse by 94% within hours, resulting in a $4 billion loss for investors. This incident highlights the growing concern over the rise of scams in the crypto industry, particularly with meme coins. In February, Solana saw over $485 million in outflows due to increasing meme coin scams, prompting investors to move their capital to 'safer' assets. The bill addresses this growing problem by targeting fraudulent activities that are occurring on a larger scale. The crypto space is dealing with a staggering $51 billion in annual losses due to crimes, according to Chainalysis. While past attempts to regulate the industry, such as the 2021-2022 Senate Bill S8839, failed to pass, this new bill represents a renewed effort to tackle crypto crime. Anastasija Plotnikova, CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum, emphasized that the rise of scams and fraud in the industry should be under the jurisdiction of law enforcement. Plotnikova stressed that these scams are not only unethical but also illegal, and law enforcement agencies must be given more tools to combat them. Her comments came after the significant collapse of the Libra token, which left many investors in turmoil. The scandal also revealed that some members of the Jupiter decentralized exchange knew about the Libra token launch two weeks before it happened, raising concerns about insider trading. While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has set up a Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit to address crypto crime, the industry still struggles with fraud. In 2023, the FBI reported a 45% increase in crypto-related losses, totaling $5.6 billion. As the crypto market continues to deal with scams, New York's new bill represents an important step toward tightening regulations and protecting investors from fraudulent schemes.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This New York Bill Aims to Give Returning Citizens A Six-Month Cash Stipend
Criminal legal reform advocates in New York state are pushing for the Reentry Assistance Bill, which would provide increased financial support for citizens returning from jail. Currently, New York offers citizens a one-time $200 stipend upon their release from state prison. The assistance bill, filed as New York Assembly Bill A. 193, proposes stipends of $425 each month for up to six months for eligible citizens who remain compliant with the conditions of their release. Fully funding the annual $25 million bill would cost less than 1 percent of New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision's 2026 fiscal year budget. Sam Schaeffer is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a nonprofit that offers employment to formerly incarcerated people. He says the bill is a no-brainer opportunity to provide genuine assistance to returning citizens. 'We can't expect someone when they come home with $200 to navigate New York City or Buffalo or Long Island,' Schaeffer says. 'So much of someone coming home is just trying to figure out who can help them. And people, when they have a little bit of resources, can begin to navigate what's a really complex and labyrinthine process. But, if we give them nothing, it's almost impossible.' Schaeffer says that the idea for the bill developed from the success of their Returning Citizen Stimulus, crafted during Covid-19 quarantine. CEO typically provides daily employment (and daily pay) for formerly incarcerated people, but the Covid lockdown kept them from offering outside labor opportunities. And most newly incarcerated people couldn't apply for government assistance because they hadn't filed taxes in the prior two years. So CEO helped raise roughly $24 million, the largest conditional distribution to formerly incarcerated people. The Returning Citizen Stimulus program was implemented in 28 locations, but 95 percent of participants were in seven cities: Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, and Tulsa. In New York, the Fortune Society, Osborne Association, CASES, and EXODUS Transitional Center partnered with CEO to distribute $4.3 million in cash assistance to 1,756 people. Returning citizens received up to $2,750 in three increments over 60 days, remaining eligible for the payments by completing employment-related milestones such as creating resumes. CEO says that over 90 percent of Returning Citizen Stimulus participants made good on employment goals, and Schaeffer contends that the stimulus helped him realize the necessity of offering employment access as well as cash assistance. 'I had thought previously that workforce development, getting someone a job, and giving them money were slightly different things. They're totally interconnected,' Schaeffer says. 'We saw people actually maintain participation in programs at just such higher levels, even during Covid, because they had money, they had some of their anxieties and basic needs met.' He also asserts that people made the 'wisest and smartest' decisions with the funds. 'They were, sometimes for the first time in their lives, experiencing autonomy at this level. And they were using the resources in unbelievably creative and productive ways,' he says. Schaeffer recalls that one Returning Citizen Stimulus recipient used part of his funds to pay for a family member's funeral. 'He was like, 'I've been the black sheep of my family. The fact that I could step up and come through at that time, it felt so good. But also, now, that helped rebuild trust with my sister and she's letting me stay here.'' He also referenced a woman in Colorado who put her RCS stipend into savings, which ran counter to her habit of irresponsibly 'blowing' money. The woman told him that 'by showing I could just keep the money in the bank, it brought [her and her children] a lot closer and it rebuilt that trust.' New York resident Dion Johnson came home from a six-year prison sentence in December 2019 when he began working with CEO. New York provided a $40 stipend when Johnson was released, which typically only covered the bus ride home. New York Governor Kathy Hochul raised the stipend to $200 in last year's budget, but Johnson says it's still insufficient. He broke down the basic costs that would quickly deplete the funds: a bus ticket, a meal, and essentials such as underwear and toiletries. He notes that once a returning citizen goes to a loved one's home, 'that money's gone' and they may not have another way to contribute to the household. Along with providing music management for acts in New York and Detroit, Johnson currently works as an advocacy fellow at CEO, and a credible messenger at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He says that the Reentry Assistance Bill would greatly benefit returning citizens. 'The blessing that I see is not only the amount that they're going for, but the fact that it's going to be dispensed over a period of time,' he says. 'It's not going to be one lump sum. So that way it's going to help them to budget.' He adds that the assistance will theoretically help returning citizens stay on the straight and narrow. 'When you don't have that assistance, or you have something as minimal as $200, it puts your back against the wall, and some people may be tempted to go back to their old ways: 'Oh, I got to hit the block, man, this ain't enough money right now.'' A 2024 press release by the New York state corrections department revealed that since 2020, when the Returning Citizen Stimulus began, the state's 19 percent recidivism rate was the lowest since the department began tracking recidivism in 1985. Schaeffer believes that the Reentry Assistance Bill would further decrease those recidivism rates, which would help New York reach their Reentry 2030 program goals. 'In the long run, we will return significant cost savings to the state by lowering levels of recidivism,' he says. 'There's also an economic motive that if we can provide people real meaningful support, we won't end up having to pay for it on the backend in terms of more state tax dollars.' New York State Assemblyman Edward 'Eddie' Gibbs sponsors the bill. In 2022, he became the first formerly incarcerated individual elected to the New York State legislature. He agrees with Schaeffer that the bill 'is a crucial step towards breaking the cycle of recidivism that too often traps people and undermines our communities,' adding, 'This monthly stipend isn't a handout; it's an investment in successful reentry for people as they navigate the transition back. When formerly incarcerated individuals have the tools they need to rebuild their lives, they're going to do better and they're far less likely to re-offend which creates a safer environment for everyone.' Schaeffer says that there are two similar reentry funding measures in other states. In California, the Helping Justice-Involved Reenter Employment (HIRE) initiative distributed $50 million for job training and financial support to returning citizens in 2023. But the initiative wasn't a component of California's 2024 fiscal year budget; advocates are urging Governor Gavin Newsom to renew HIRE funding. And in Colorado, the Senate Judiciary recently voted to postpone the Reentry Cash Pilot, which replicated the Returning Citizen Stimulus. CEO is working to propose other reentry assistance initiatives in the state. On March 4, CEO is holding a day of advocacy in Albany, New York, where they will inform legislators and other power brokers about the efficacy of the Reentry Assistance Bill. Schaeffer will be in attendance as well as Johnson, who looks forward to informing assembly people about the bill's necessity. He believes it's a chance for citizens to destigmatize incarcerated people and help them seek a better life. 'My whole life was stripped. I had to go up North. I went to prison, which is modern-day slavery. That's enough,' Johnson says. 'Why wouldn't you want to help someone that's already making an effort? Because it's not like they just going to give the money to anyone. It's certain criteria [to qualify]. And I feel that as citizens, just to be able to contribute to a better society, everyone should want to help. No one has any right to condemn someone for their past.' More from Rolling Stone Eric Adams' Lawyers Offered Trump DOJ an 'Ever-Present Partner' Trump's Plan Comes Into Focus: Make America Corrupt Again He Took On R. 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