New York governor discusses amendments to assisted suicide proposal

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants changes to a bill that would allow doctors to provide lethal drugs to patients with terminal diagnoses.

The Medical Aid in Dying Act passed the Legislature earlier this year, but Hochul wants lawmakers to add several new conditions before deciding whether to sign it. 

One of her proposals would require patients to record themselves on video when asking for life-ending drugs, the Gothamist reports. 

She acknowledged the pressure surrounding the proposal. 

“I hear from a lot of people on that issue,” Hochul recently told reporters. “There are strong views on both sides of the spectrum – intense views on this. And I’m conscious of that, and it’s going to be a very weighty decision on me.” 

Hochul also seeks a seven-day waiting period for patients requesting the drugs. In addition, she wants every applicant to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.  

Other requests by Hochul include restricting the bill to New York residents only and delaying its effective date by one year. 

The legislation is one of more than 200 bills Hochul must act on before the end of the year. It is unclear whether the Legislature will accept her proposed amendments. The bill’s sponsors have stayed quiet. 

Hochul’s spokesperson Kara Cumoletti said the governor “continues to review the legislation,” 

suggesting negotiations are happening behind closed doors. 

Religious leaders have sharply criticized the bill. The state’s Catholic bishops said the measure reaches a moral breaking point. 

Bob Bellafiore, a spokesperson for the New York State Catholic Conference, said the proposed changes are “basically deck chairs on the Titanic.”  

“They don’t change the fundamental truth that this bill sanctions suicide, diminishes medicine forever and is guaranteed to lead to tragedies, mistakes and unintended consequences that the governor will be responsible for,” he said. 

Assisted suicide is legal in 11 states, primarily Democratic ones, and the provisions in such laws tend to be expanded over time. 

For example, Vermont dropped its residency requirement in 2023, allowing out-of-staters to come to end their lives. Oregon did the same in 2022. 

Canada legalized assisted suicide in 2016, and it became the fifth leading cause of death by 2022. Assisted suicides rose from 1,018 in 2016 to 13,241 in 2022.