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/
“Para Brittany (Maynard), el saber que la ayuda médica para morir estaba disponible, le permitió tener un poco de control de la terrible enfermedad” Más de 85 legisladores se Unen a la Asambleísta Paulin, Senador Hoylman-Sigal, Patrocinadores de Medida de Ayuda Médica para Morir Corinne Carey, directora de campaña de Compassion & Choices Nueva…
In 2025, Delaware and New York are poised to reignite debates over medical aid-in-dying legislation, reflecting a nationwide shift toward end-of-life autonomy.
Una encuesta reciente de YouGov poll mostró que los neoyorquinos apoyan abrumadoramente la ayuda médica para morir, ( 72-23%), incluyendo las fuertes mayorías de demócratas, depublicanos e independientes, así como de negros, blancos, latinos, asiáticos y votantes de cada region del estado.
A recent YouGov poll showed New Yorkers overwhelmingly support medical aid in dying, 72-23%, including strong majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents, as well as Black, white, Latino, and Asian voters, and voters from every region of the state.
New York’s 2024 legislative session ended in June without passage of the Medical Aid in Dying Act. The session marked nine years of advocacy for medical aid-in-dying legislation in Alban
Terminally ill New Yorkers who had hoped to have medical aid in dying available to them in their final days expressed theri extreme disappointment in the Legislature’s failure to act.
Campaña para Autorizar Ayuda Médica para Morir en 2025 Empieza Hoy Mismo
Corinne Carey, senior New York campaign director of Compassion & Choices, applauded the New York State Council of Churches for issuing a memo in support of New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act.
A native New York filmmaker, Serene Meshel-Dillman, chronicles her parents’ use of California’s End of Life Option Act and other terminally ill advocates for medical aid in dying across the country in a new documentary series streaming now on Amazon Prime Video: “Take Me Out Feet First.”
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