Ithaca Journal: Your Turn Guest Column: NY must pass Medical Aid in Dying Act

Mar 6, 2021 New York New York Medical Aid in Dying Act

An excerpt from the Ithaca Journal editorial, “NY must pass Medical Aid in Dying Act (e-edition behind paywall),” by Ithaca resident Myra Shulman, published March 6, 2021:

 
"My friend Shelley loved outdoor adventures — bicycling, downhill skiing, boating on Cayuga Lake. But at age 60, she developed a rare cancer that extensive surgeries and chemo failed to cure. Shelley would die as the tumors grew, eventually crushing her lungs, heart and other organs.

Knowing the pain and indignities to come, Shelley desperately wanted the end of her life to be gentle, peaceful, and at a time and place of her choosing. If she had lived in New Jersey, Vermont or seven other states where Medical Aid in Dying is legal, Shelley would have had the compassionate option of obtaining a prescription that would allow her the kind of life end she wanted...

It is time — past time! — for New Yorkers suffering at the end of life to be able to have the same rights, freedoms and options that my mother had and that were denied to Shelley. Tell your State senator, Assembly member and Governor Cuomo that it is time to pass New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act..."

More at IthacaJournal.com (e-edition behind paywall)