The New York Medical Aid in Dying Act is in effect as of August 5, 2026, expanding end-of-life options for terminally ill New Yorkers and affirming their right to make informed, compassionate decisions at the end of life. This landmark achievement is the result of more than a decade of advocacy led by Compassion & Choices, alongside allied organizations and hundreds of New Yorkers who shared their stories, raised their voices, and urged lawmakers to act.
The New York State Department of Health released proposed regulations on June 3, 2026, providing guidance on how the law will be administered and establishing procedures for providers and healthcare organizations. Additionally, on July 27, 2026, the Department of Health published further guidance to their website, geared toward patients, families, and caregivers. For official information, visit the New York State Department of Health’s Medical Aid in Dying webpage.
You can see information about the regulations and the forthcoming guidance by visiting the Department’s website by clicking this link.
Send a note of gratitude of your own to your elected officials, Assemblymember Paulin, Senator Hoylman-Sigal, and Governor Kathy Hochul.
Medical aid in dying is for people who are already dying. It is a lawful medical option for qualified adults with a terminal illness, a prognosis of six months or less to live, who can make their own healthcare decisions and have the ability to take the medication themselves.
Medical aid in dying is not suicide or euthanasia. Compassion & Choices supports people seeking information about lawful end-of-life care options in the United States. We do not provide instructions or guidance for ending your life outside supportive medical care.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, in crisis, or thinking about suicide, help is available right now. You are not alone, and your pain deserves care. Call 988, text 988, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at https://988lifeline.org/chat/
La muerte médica asistida: una opción cristiana para terminar con el sufrimiento al final de vida No tengo ningún problema con la noción de la muerte, porque la muerte es parte de la vida. Es cómo la enfrentamos y el camino que tomamos durante su proceso, lo que hace la diferencia. Es una bendición que…
The neurologist was “concise in his description: ‘The man is dead.’ -’What do you mean?’ -”He is brain dead.’ In spite of what the neurologist said, we were not yet able to diagnose brain death in this patient, but I was delegated to go to the patient’s bedside. I walked into the room, and he…
Compassion & Choices today released a public service announcement in Spanish featuring Mexican actor Mauricio Ochmann urging Latinos to support the bipartisan Medical Aid in Dying Act that was reintroduced last month at the state Capitol. Ochmann, known as “Chema Venegas” in the popular Telemundo telenovelas El Chema and El Señor de los Cielos, recorded…
Savino & Paulin continúan como principales patrocinadores Aumenta el apoyo de diversas organizaciones gubernamentales Albany, NY – La oficina de Compassion & Choices en New York tomó hoy con beneplácito la reintroducción de la Ayuda Médica para Morir para 2017 (S.3151/A.2383), un proyecto de ley que le dará a los neoyorquinos la opción de tomar…
Compassion & Choices New York today welcomed the reintroduction of the Medical Aid in Dying Act for 2017 (S.3151/A.2383), a bill to give New Yorkers the option to make end-of-life healthcare decisions that are right for them in the final stages of a terminal illness. The bill’s prime sponsors continue to be Senator Diane Savino…
Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday observed on Nov. 1-2, when families celebrate the lives of deceased loved ones by honoring them with beautiful gifts, colorful altars and visits to their graves, and embrace death as a part of the human experience in joyful festivity. Compassion & Choices’ Day…
To recognize Day of the Dead, on November 1 Compassion & Choices will honor the memory of deceased aid-in-dying supporters with a celebration in New York City including a candle lighting, procession and dance. “These brave advocates spent their last months of life advocating for laws to authorize medical aid in dying despite the horrors of…
We sent the following message to our New York City supporters this week: Friend, I’m writing to ask you to join us for one of our most important initiatives this year. In order to recruit more supporters in New York City, we’re launching a public transit signature campaign to raise awareness and answer questions about…
We sent the following message to our New York City supporters this week: Friend, I’d like to invite you to an event that Compassion & Choices is co-hosting with Fordham University’s Department of Sociology & Anthropology in New York City: a film screening of How to Die in Oregon, an award-winning documentary that offers a…
To receive personalized support, resources, and information.
Leave a message at 800.247.7421 to get connected.
If you are deaf or hard of hearing, or prefer written communication, you are welcome to reach us by email at [email protected]
Mail contributions directly to:
Compassion & Choices Gift Processing Center
PO Box 485
Etna, NH 03750
Compassion & Choices is a 501 C3 organization. Federal tax number: 84-1328829
