Compassion & Choices NY Weekly Why: How Would Medical Aid in Dying Work in New York? (May 23)

May 23, 2023

Distributed to New York State Lawmakers via email May 23, 2022:

Good evening,
More and more of your colleagues are adding their names as co-sponsors of New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act (A4321a/S6471), but time is running out for you to use your power to help terminally ill people and stop needless suffering at the end of life.
It matters what you do this session. I hope you’ll consider adding your name as a co-sponsor today.

As you consider your position on this bill, I thought you might want to learn more about what the process of asking for and receiving a prescription for medical aid in dying might look like for a New Yorker once the bill is passed. We’ll be at the capitol tomorrow to answer any questions you might have about this, or you can open the document below that I’ve attached to this email so you can read it more easily.

[Download the document “Jane’s Journey to Access Medical Aid in Dying” here]

In short, there are more than a dozen safeguards in place to ensure that from start to finish, the power to request a prescription for medical aid in dying and take the medication is in the hands of the dying person alone — not a physician, not a family member, not a health care proxy.
Please let me know if you have any questions about how the practice of medical aid in dying will work in our state. As you may know, I am privileged to lead Compassion & Choices’ efforts in New Jersey, and since the last passed there in 2019, I have been working with healthcare providers, hospital systems, hospices, and families to ensure that the law is working as intended, without abuse and without unnecessary barriers to care. I am committed to doing the same here in the Empire State.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing you in the hallways tomorrow!
Corinne Carey

Weekly Why Archive

Each week that New York State Lawmakers were in session in 2022, Compassion & Choices New York provided a deep dive into each of the issues surrounding New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act. You can find each of these weekly communications with lawmakers here: 

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