ALBANY, N.Y. — The Medical Aid in Dying Act, the law that allows some terminally ill people to take medication to end their life, goes into effect on Wednesday in New York State.
As News10NBC has covered, the law allows doctors to prescribe a pill to end the life of a person with less than six months to live. Medical staff don’t have to participate in providing aid in dying if they don’t feel comfortable doing so, and a patient must be able to self-administer the medication. You can learn more about the law on the state’s Department of Health website.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the bill into law in February, after some revisions to the bill aimed at ensuring that no patient is coerced into taking the pills and that no medical professionals are forced to help. Medical aid in dying is already legal in some other states.
Criticism of allowing aid in dying
Some groups have criticized the bill. Catholic healthcare providers and religious orders are suing to block the Medical Aid in Dying Act, claiming it violates their constitutional rights.
According to the Albany Times Union, the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Albany, argues the law forces religious institutions to participate in physician-assisted death despite their beliefs. Plaintiffs want a temporary restraining order and a ruling that the law is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit says the bill violates their First Amendment protections, stating New York is forcing religious institutions to pick between following their beliefs and remaining in compliance with the law. Medical staff don’t have to participate in providing aid in dying if they don’t feel comfortable doing so. However, like in all other medical cases, they do have to transfer relevant records to a new medical provider if the patient asks.
Support for aid in dying
News10NBC spoke with a Rochester woman whose brother opted for aid in dying in Washington State. Ethan Remmel was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, which spread to his bones and caused severe pain.
We also spoke with a Webster woman, Susan Rahn, living with stage-four metastatic breast cancer, who said the bill could determine how she might end her life.
“I don’t want to be medicated to the point where I can’t communicate with my family,” said Rahn in an interview last December. “When I feel like my body just can’t do it anymore. I know that I can just take a medication that will put me to sleep and no pain. I don’t have to linger. And that’s very comforting to me.”
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