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/
We sent the following message to our Long Island supporters this week: Friend, As you may know, Long Island’s Over 50 Fair will be held in Melville on Sunday. And Compassion & Choices will be there to recruit supporters and spread our message. Compassion & Choices National Board Member Samantha Sandler will present a workshop…
We sent the following message to our New York supporters last week: Friend, I’d like to invite you to an important event happening in Utica on November 3. The Resource Center for Independent Living, an organization that works to advance the civil rights of individuals with disabilities, will hold a conference on medical aid in…
Advocates for aid-in-dying legislation took their grassroots campaign to the New York State Fair last week. Compassion & Choices New York (C&C) showcased their cause to the record-setting 1.1 million attendees. C&C volunteers had one-on-one conversations with more than 6,000 New Yorkers at its table and generated more than 4,200 postcards from New York voters…
The following email was sent to Poughkeepsie-area supporters. Please feel free to join us at this event: Friend, I’d like to invite you to a Poughkeepsie film screening of How to Die in Oregon, an award-winning documentary that offers a moving portrait of people accessing medical aid in dying. As you know, our campaign to bring…
Every month, Doctors for Dignity Campaign Manager Rebecca Thoman, M.D., sends a bulletin to all Doctors for Dignity. The following message was sent in August 2016: Friend, Last month, the New York State Academy of Family Physicians (NYSAFP) Congress of Delegates voted to remain neutral on “state or federal legislation regarding aid in dying by…
We sent this message to our New York supporters this week: I’m writing to ask you to join us for one of our most important events of the year. In just a few weeks, Compassion & Choices New York will have a booth at the New York State Fair in Syracuse. Our presence at the…
The following message was sent to our North Country, New York supporters on Monday, June 27: Friend, I’d like to invite you to a Tupper Lake film screening of How to Die in Oregon, an award-winning documentary that offers a moving portrait of people accessing medical aid in dying. As you know, our campaign to…
The following email was sent to our New York supporters on Friday, June 17: Friend, Today marks the end of New York’s 2016 legislative session. As you know, this year we brought lawmakers to the table to negotiate the Medical Aid in Dying Act. Thanks to more than 1300 supporters like you who contacted your…
UPDATE: The bill passed a New York Assembly committee on May 23. Read more here. Dozens of motivated activists gathered at the New York State Capitol in Albany on May 10 for Spring Lobby Day to talk to legislators about why it’s time to authorize medical aid in dying in the Empire State. C&C kicked…
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