Compassion & Choices NY Weekly Why: It's Not Suicide (Feb. 28)

Compassion & Choices NY Weekly Why: It’s Not Suicide (Feb. 28)

February 28, 2022

Distributed to New York State Lawmakers via email February 28, 2022:

Good morning, and welcome back to Albany!

I hope you had a great weekend, and if you actually took a break last week, I hope it was restful.

Today I’d like to share with you why medical aid in dying is not suicide. I’d like to invite you to read a letter from Dr. Jeff Gardere. Dr. Jeff, better known as “America’s Psychologist,” is one of the most widely sought-after experts in the field of mental health. In addition to having a private practice in Manhattan, he is an Associate Professor and Course Director of Behavioral Medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City. Dr. Jeff is also an ordained Interfaith Minister with a Doctorate in Divinity from The New Seminary. You can click the embedded link in the highlighted text above, and I’ve also attached the letter to this email.

No one says it better, though, than Susan Rahn, a terminally ill woman from Rochester: “Those opposed to medical aid in dying describe it as ‘suicide,’ but I am not suicidal. I’d like nothing more than to live for as long as I can, but I know that my breast cancer will someday end my life. I want to live to see my first grandchild take her first steps. But I also don’t want to suffer needlessly at the very end of my life. That’s why I’m begging lawmakers to authorize medical aid in dying in 2022.”

You have the power to stop needless suffering this year by passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act (A4321a/S6471). If you aren’t yet a co-sponsor, and you want to publicly signal your support for this bill, please contact Assemblymember Amy Paulin or Senator Diane Savino to sign on in support of this compassionate legislation.

And in case you’re just catching up on this issue, I collected each of the Weekly Why segments that I’ve been sharing with you and your staff since January. As promised, each week you’re in session, I am sending you detailed information about one aspect of New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act. You can click on the title below to view each of the archived emails I’ve sent since January:

Too Many New Yorkers Have Suffered (Jan. 21)
New York Voters Support the Bill (Jan. 24)
The Medical Aid in Dying Act Makes Sense for New York (Jan. 31)
Data Doesn’t Lie (Feb. 2)
Peace & Love is What it’s All About (Feb. 14)

Thank you for your consideration, and I hope you have a great week,

Corinne

Weekly Why Archive

Each week that New York State Lawmakers were in session in 2022, Compassion & Choices New York provided a deep dive into each of the issues surrounding New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act. You can find each of these weekly communications with lawmakers here:

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Compassion & Choices NY Weekly Why: It’s Not Suicide (Feb. 28)

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