NY governor to sign assisted suicide legislation into law

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she will sign legislation legalizing assisted suicide as soon as the Legislature approves her amendments.

The bill applies to adults diagnosed with incurable and irreversible illnesses who are expected to live six months or less. Patients must obtain approval from three medical professionals and make both written and oral requests affirming the decision was voluntary.

Hochul, a Democrat and a Catholic, framed her decision in personal and moral terms, saying it followed years of internal conflict and reflection. She said her views were shaped in part by watching a close family member die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“I watched my own mom die from A.L.S.,” Hochul wrote in an op-ed published by the Times Union. “I watched that vicious disease steal away the strong woman who raised me as it took her ability to walk, to eat, to speak and, ultimately, to live.”

Hochul acknowledged tension between the legislation and her faith, which opposes assisted suicide, but said she concluded the law was necessary for the broader population.

“There’s a lot of religious conflict in me, the way I was raised,” she said. “But I realized it’s not about me, it’s about 20 million New Yorkers.”

She also claimed permitting assisted suicide can align with compassion despite her church’s teachings against it.

“I do not believe that in every instance condemning someone to excruciating pain and suffering preserves the dignity and sanctity of life,” Hochul wrote. “I was taught that God is merciful and compassionate, and so must we be.”

The governor said she insisted on changes to the original bill to prevent coercion and protect vulnerable patients. Under the revised version, patients must be evaluated by two physicians and a third professional, either a psychiatrist or psychologist, to ensure the decision is free of pressure. The bill also includes a five-day waiting period and limits eligibility to New York residents. 

Hospitals with religious objections will not be required to participate. 

Catholic leaders strongly opposed the measure. 

The New York State Catholic Conference called the bill “egregious” and said it represented the state’s abandonment of vulnerable people. The Catholic Church has long taught assisted suicide is morally wrong. 

“While physician-assisted suicide will soon be legal here in New York, we must clearly reiterate that it is in direct conflict with Catholic teaching on the sacredness and dignity of all human life from conception until natural death and is a grave moral evil on par with other direct attacks on human life,” the statement said. “We call on Catholics and all New Yorkers to reject physician-assisted suicide for themselves, their loved ones, and those in their care. And we pray that our state turn away from its promotion of a Culture of Death and invest instead in life-affirming, compassionate hospice and palliative care, which is seriously underutilized.” 

State Republicans also criticized Hochul’s decision. Party chairman Ed Cox said the law sends a damaging message to struggling New Yorkers. 

“At a moment when New Yorkers are struggling with isolation and mental health crises, she is choosing to tell the most vulnerable among us that their lives are expendable,” Cox said. “This is not compassion; it’s abandonment.” 

The legislation will take effect six months after it is signed.