“Be a champion by taking a public stand in favor of making medical aid in dying legal in New York. Governor Hochul, please be our champion.”

Nearly 80 Legislators Join Assem. Paulin & Sen. Hoylman-Sigal Sponsoring the Reintroduced Medical Aid in Dying Act

Corinne Carey, Compassion & Choices’ senior campaign director for New York/New Jersey, implored Governor Kathy Hochul to listen to the New Yorkers who have been urging her to lead on passing the recently reintroduced Medical Aid in Dying Act (A.136/S.138) – with nearly 80 legislative sponsors – and be a champion for bodily autonomy at the end of life.

Ten states, including New Jersey, Vermont and Maine, as well as Washington, D.C., have authorized medical aid in dying, which allows a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with six months or less to live to request a prescription from their doctor for medication they can take to die peacefully if their pain or suffering becomes too great. Over the last quarter-century, more than one-third of patients requesting the prescription never use it, but experience great peace of mind knowing the option is available to them.

“So many advocates for medical aid in dying have recently written to Governor Hochul to share their stories for why they are asking the Governor to be a champion on bodily autonomy at the end of life, as she is on other bodily autonomy issues,” Carey said. “Their stories are compelling, both for those who are dealing with diagnoses of cancer or ALS, and for those who have witnessed the peaceful death of a loved one in one of the 10 states where medical aid in dying is legal.”

Jonathan Thaler, son of Pat Koch Thaler (sister of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch), who died at the age of 92, November 16, 2024 in New Jersey using medical aid in dying, said: “When speaking about her coming death, my mother said, ‘Make sure that we use the right terms. I am not committing suicide; I am using medical aid in dying. I am not coming to the end of my life by choice.

“Mom died peacefully and gracefully, surrounded by her loved ones after living a full life,” Thaler said. “Governor, you have the opportunity to provide a true blessing to the people of New York – in honor of my mother and uncle – and be a champion by taking a public stand in favor of making medical aid in dying legal in New York. Governor Hochul, please be our champion.”

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.

Dr. Jeremy Boal, former Chief Clinical Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, who stepped down from that role in late 2023, after learning that he had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), said: “If this law is passed, not one more person will die as a result of its passage. But many fewer will suffer. Of that I am confident.

“I want the opportunity to die here in my home state that I love, surrounded by my loved ones, and cared for by the doctors whom I know and trust. Knowing that this is possible will give me so much comfort and I will be able to live with joy and gratitude during my remaining time, rather than with fear and dread,” Dr. Boal said. 

Jules Netherland, a Bronx resident and medical sociologist and managing director of research and academic engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance, who was diagnosed two years ago with stage 4 breast cancer, said: “Medical aid in dying is fundamentally about choice and autonomy, and I know that you have long been a champion for choice.

“My New Year’s wish is that you, Governor Hochul, provide the leadership needed to get the medical aid in dying bill over the finish line in 2025. Give the gift of dignity, autonomy, and choice and also give the gift of letting me, and folks like me, focus the time we have left on living. Be the champion we need,” Netherland said.

Darren Chervitz, a 51-year-old husband and father of two daughters, living in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, who was diagnosed in July 2024 with aggressive stage 3 prostate cancer, and is in a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering, said: “Governor, while I don’t fear death, I do fear dying.

“This law is such a meaningful gift to the dying,” Chervitz said. “So, Governor, I know you have been a champion for bodily autonomy for women and I applaud you for that, but I once again implore you to also become a champion of bodily autonomy at the end of life, giving those who are needlessly suffering the chance for a dignified, peaceful death that also spares their loved ones from prolonged torment.”

Carey thanked Assemblymember Amy Paulin & Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal for reintroducing the bill so early in the session and quickly lining up the support of so many of their colleagues. The legislation starts the session with 55 Assembly sponsors and 24 Senate sponsors. 

Iris Dudman, a 74-year-old Westchester County resident, diagnosed with glioblastoma, a brain tumor with an average survival rate of 12-18 months, on November 11, 2024, said: “I have been looking into finding a doctor in Vermont, the closest state that allows out-of-state residents to take advantage of their medical aid in dying law. But I really want to be in my home, surrounded by the people I love and not have to make many trips to Vermont to find the choice I want. 

“Please help me. You have the power to give me the option to skip the last miserable days, weeks, or a few months if I so choose. It should be my right,” Dudman said. 

Myra Shulman, whose mother, Beverly Shulman, died at 89 in 2017, from incurable metastatic colon cancer, using California’s End of Life Option Act, said: “When my mother told me it was time, my sister and both our husbands all came to be there with her. We decided to make it a celebration of our love for our mother.

“I feel so fortunate that my mom did not have to suffer at the end.Nor did she have to watch us watching her suffer. It was a peaceful loving death for my mom and a wonderful final memory for us to celebrate her life. Please, Governor, help other New Yorkers have these kinds of memories of their loved ones, not the added grief and horror of watching a loved one needlessly suffer in their final hours, day and weeks. Be a hero, Governor,” Shulman said. 

Nancy Murphy, whose sister, Joan Kline, died in August 2016 from incurable ovarian cancer, using Vermont’s medical aid in dying law, said: “That loving, beautiful, peaceful chosen transition allowed us to bond with her and she with us in a way that is beyond description. Our grieving is mixed with admiration for her courage and determination and with pride that we as a family came together in mutual support of her decision. 

“Medical aid in dying was a blessing for her and for all of us. I urge you to help make that blessing available to all New Yorkers in 2025,” Murphy said. 

Rachel Remmel, from Brighton, NY, the sister of Ethan Remmel, who in 2011, at the age of 41, ingested a medical aid in dying prescription in his home in Bellingham, Washington, after a battle with stage 4 colon cancer, said in her letter to the Governo: “With your support and that of New York legislators, may 2025 bring an end to the unnecessary suffering of terminal ill New Yorkers and instead mark the arrival of this new right and freedom that will grant them the type of deaths they want for themselves.”

Erin Markman, of Brooklyn, whose father died of cancer in 2023 in California using medical aid in dying medication, said: “I approach this issue thinking primarily about life, not about death. About the way my wonderful dad was able to live with a terminal diagnosis. To live in a way that had joy and meaning and ease, because he knew that he would have a choice at the end of his life if he needed it.

“What an opportunity you have,” Markman wrote the Governor. “What an incredible opportunity to pass medical aid in dying legislation and provide this option to those who want and need it. Make it your New Year’s resolution to pass this bill.”

Cassandra Johnston, of Clifton Park, who was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2022 at the age of 38, said: “Living with a life-threatening disease is not easy. As a cancer patient, you never know what the disease is capable of doing to you. I am not asking you to put your voice behind medical aid in dying. I’m begging you.

“You have stood behind reproductive freedom every step of the way, for which I applaud you tremendously. Medical aid in dying is no different. It is the freedom for a terminally ill patient to have rights to their own body, a decision only they should be allowed to make with their doctor,” Johnston said. “Please stand behind us and put your voice at the forefront of this movement in New York.”

The Medical Aid in Dying Act is supported by numerous advocacy groups in the state, including: 

1 in 9 LI Breast Cancer Action Coalition 

Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester

Catholic Vote Common Good

Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)

Harlem United

Indivisible Westchester

Latino Commission on AIDS

Latinos for Healthcare Equity

League of Women Voters of NYS

Medical Society of State of NY (MSSNY)

New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU)

NYS Bar Association

NYS Council of Churches

NYS Nurses Association (NYSNA)

NYS Public Health Association NOW-NY

Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts

SAGE NY (Services for LGBT elders)

StateWide Senior Action Council

Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion

WESPAC Foundation

Women’s Bar Assn. of NYS

“It’s time for the Governor and Legislature to listen to the voices of New Yorkers. Medical aid in dying is supported by a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents. Upstaters and downstaters. Men and women, young and old. Now, the Governor is hearing directly from constituents, some of whom are facing terminal diagnoses. Too many New Yorkers have died over the last 10 years – often suffering – without the option of medical aid in dying. It is time to pass the Medical Aid in Dying Act. The legislature should act swiftly to get it done in 2025,” Carey said. 

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