Faith groups urge NY governor to veto assisted suicide proposal

The only person standing between New York’s legalization or rejection of assisted suicide is Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Both chambers of the state Legislature have passed the measure to legalize the practice, but faith groups are urging the governor to veto it. Hochul has until the end of the year to do so. If she vetoes the bill, lawmakers likely won’t have enough votes to override.

The New York State Catholic Conference has asked Hochul to reject the bill, which the Wall Street Journal editorial board worries has “few safeguards and no waiting period.” The New York Times reports the bill has no residency requirement, meaning adults from elsewhere can travel to New York to end their lives.

“We fully expect the Governor will also hear the concerns of the disabilities community, which has expressed grave concern that they will be coerced toward assisted suicide due to loss of independence or bodily function,” said the Catholic Conference’s executive director, Dennis Poust, in a statement.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Governor on these priorities following her veto of this disastrous bill.”

The Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel also opposes the measure.

“We have met dozens of legislators on this issue, testified publicly and sent out numerous action alerts,” Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, director of New York government relations, said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed at today’s vote and strongly urge Governor Hochul to veto this bill.”

The New York Families Foundation, a Christian organization, testified against the bill, noting it would:

• Allow terminally ill persons to be prescribed lethal drugs without an in-person visit with a physician.
• Make New York into an assisted suicide tourism state.
• Not require any psychiatric assessment of a person requesting state-sanctioned suicide.

Additionally, the Orthodox Union, the largest Orthodox Jewish organization in America, expressed a similar sentiment. 

“At a time that New York State is struggling to address the spiraling numbers of ‘deaths of despair’ resulting from alcoholism, substance abuse, and suicides, this legislation is a giant step in the wrong direction,” the union’s president Rabbi Moshe Hauer said in a statement. 

“What we need is a whole-of society effort to provide ‘Medical and Social Aid in Living,’ to build hope and enhance care and treatment for the terminally ill and for the physically, emotionally, and economically vulnerable, young and old,” he added. “That effort needs to be led and supported by the government, medical and mental health providers, educators, and the faith community. Instead, the government is leading the way in validating, accepting and accelerating despair.” 

A spokesman for Hochul has not said whether she supports the bill, only that she will review it. 

Eleven states, mostly led by Democrats, have legalized assisted suicide. Some states have also expanded the scope of the practice. 

Notably, Oregon and Vermont scrapped residency requirements for out-of-staters in 2022 and 2023, respectively. 

Colorado enacted a law last year cutting the waiting period between oral requests from 15 days to seven, establishing waiting-period waivers for some patients and letting advanced practice registered nurses prescribe it. 

Canada legalized assisted suicide in 2016. It became the country’s fifth-leading cause of death by 2022, rising from 1,018 cases in 2016 to 13,241 cases six years later.