New York’s 2024 legislative session ended in June without passage of the Medical Aid in Dying Act. The session marked a decade of advocacy for medical aid-in-dying legislation in Albany.

In the waning days of this session — as I lamented the uncertainty and unfairness of New York’s legislative process — a volunteer advocate who is also a hospice doctor shared a new perspective that I will carry into this post-session summer: Approach this work every day as though the bill will never pass.

This may sound like a strange way for a driven campaign director to think about her work (and make no mistake: no one questions whether the bill will pass, just when), but what my doctor friend was trying to show me is that there is joy, satisfaction and value in empowering New Yorkers to chart their own end-of-life journeys even when it doesn’t result in legislative victory. Our movement is much more than lobbying. It is a place for catharsis, healing and community.

Despite the now decade-long failure of the Legislature to act on behalf of dying New Yorkers, I believe this will stand as a watershed year in New York’s end-of-life options movement.

We demonstrated again via polling that a majority of New Yorkers (72%) support medical aid in dying. A YouGov poll conducted in January showed strong majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents, as well as Black, white, Latino and Asian voters, and voters from every region of the state are supportive.

We engaged thousands of new and existing stakeholders across the state through a robust social media presence and digital advertising campaign, generating thousands of messages to lawmakers.

Perhaps most importantly, we maintained a consistent presence in Albany with lobby days, and eventually demonstrations, held every week.