Compassion & Choices Releases Compelling Reasons 2, 3, 4 in Campaign to “Pass Medical Aid in Dying NOW”
Jan 31, 2020 50 Reasons New York New York Medical Aid in Dying Act
Last week, Compassion & Choices launched our “50 Reasons to Pass Medical Aid in Dying NOW” campaign with the incredibly compelling Florrie Burke, the widow of award-winning filmmaker Barbara Hammer, who died from ovarian cancer last year,” said Compassion & Choices Senior New York Campaign Director Corinne Carey. “Florrie said the Legislature should pass the bill ‘so that after more than 30 years of a vibrant life together, no one has to remember the final moments of a life well-lived as ones spent in agony.’
“For every session day between now and June 2 – unless the Legislature passes the Medical Aid in Dying Act before then – we will release another compelling reason,” Carey said. “This week we heard from a doctor, a former legislator and the sister of a terminally ill woman who accessed medical aid in dying in Vermont, one of two New York neighbors and one of nine states where medical aid in dying is authorized.”
The 2nd Reason to support New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act comes from Nancy Murphy in the North Country, whose sister was able to access and utilize Vermont's medical aid in dying law. Nancy says the Legislature should pass this bill so that families can come together and celebrate a life well-lived as a loved one transitions on her own terms. Read Nancy's story here.
The 3rd Reason to support New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act comes from former Assemblymember Janet Duprey, whose mother was forced to starve to death for 11 long and torturous days to end her suffering and die. Janet says that her former colleagues in the Legislature should pass this bill so that no family has to watch their matriarch / mother / grandmother starve to death for 11 long and torturous days. Read Assemblymember Duprey's story here.
The 4th Reason to support New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act comes from Dr. Al Giwa, who has been an emergency medicine physician for more than 20 years and has seen far too many patients suffer at the end of their life. Dr. Giwa says the Legislature should pass this bill because I have had patients who have suffered needlessly at the end of life, despite our best attempts to deliver excellent palliative care. Read Dr. Giwa's story here.
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act (A.2694/S.3947) has more than 50 legislative sponsors, including the chairs of both the Assembly and Senate Health committees, and is supported by: New York State Academy of Family Physicians, League of Women Voters of New York State, New York Civil Liberties Union, New York State Public Health Association, Statewide Senior Action Council, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Harlem United, Latino Commission on AIDS, Latinos for Healthcare Equity, among many others.
