Corinne Carey, Compassion & Choices’ senior campaign director for New York/New Jersey, issued the following statement in reaction to Governor Pritzker signing Illinois’ medical aid in dying law today:

“I am so glad that terminally ill people in Illinois will now have the option of medical aid in dying thanks to Governor Pritzker and the Illinois legislature doing the right thing for the people of their state.

Here in New York, meanwhile, terminally ill New Yorkers are still waiting and hoping for compassion from Governor Hochul. The Legislature has done its job, passing the Medical Aid in Dying bill earlier this year, and now it’s up to the governor to do the right thing.

Time is running out for those who are facing their final days and weeks and hope to have the option to end their suffering on their own terms should it become too much for them to bear.

Some see this as a difficult decision. But it’s actually quite simple: This bill adds an end-of-life care option for those who are dying and want it.

For those who are opposed, this law changes nothing. But for those eligible terminally ill individuals who are yearning for comfort in the knowledge that they will have full bodily autonomy at the end of their lives, it changes everything.”

Now, 12 states, including New Jersey and Vermont, 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, about one-third of patients requesting the prescription in jurisdictions where medical aid in dying is legal never used it, experiencing great peace of mind simply knowing that the option was available to them.

New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act is supported by numerous important medical, legal and other statewide associations, including (for full list, click here):

• Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY)
• New York State Academy of Family Physicians
• Hospice & Palliative Care Association of New York State
• New York State Psychiatric Association
• New York State Nurses Association
• New York State Bar Association
• New York State Women’s Bar Association
• League of Women Voters of New York State
• Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts
• New York State National Organization for Women
• StateWide Senior Action Council

More information on medical aid in dying and the New York campaign can be found on Compassion & Choices’ website, Facebook or Twitter.

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