New York Bill Gets Major Push Forward

Compassion & Choices staff and supporters descended on the New York State Capitol in Albany for our 2019 Spring Lobby Day and came away successful.

May 24, 2019

A lot can change in one day when a critical mass of passionate voices come together. Compassion & Choices New York team, led by Campaign Director Corinne Carey, orchestrated over 100 people including organization-wide staff, volunteers and supporters to advocate for the state’s pending End of Life Options Act on May 14. The results were inspiring.

All in all, our group held 43 meetings with lawmakers, with phenomenal success: We flipped one absolute "no" to a "yes," got six "no" votes to hear us out and learn more, convinced two lawmakers who hadn't yet taken a position to co-sponsor the bill, and confirmed the support of or convinced five members who hadn't yet taken a position to support the bill. We also had 20 other productive meetings that gave us valuable insight into what our next steps need to be. “Extra huge thanks to those who stepped up and led meetings, or who took a chance and met with their lawmakers unannounced,” said Corinne. “That took courage, and it was a great addition to the day.”

The Lobby Day also garnered a good deal of media attention, including from a New York City NBC affiliate and Politico, which is particularly notable given the record numbers of demonstrators in Albany for other legislation that day. Our team also participated in interviews with six additional media outlets that we expect to write stories about this issue before the legislative session ends on June 19.

Though this deadline doesn't leave much time left to move the bill, New York operates on a two-year legislative cycle, so the bill remains alive and can be taken up in 2020 if it doesn't advance this year. We still hope, however, to move the bill through the Assembly Health Committee in both chambers in the next month.