US EditionNew York Governor Says She Has Reached a Deal to Legalize Medically Assisted Suicide
The law will allow mentally competent, terminally ill New Yorkers to request life-ending medication with safeguards including physician and psychiatrist approvals and a five-day waiting period.
- On Wednesday, Dec. 17, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she reached a deal with New York State Legislature to approve the Medical Aid in Dying Act and will sign an amended bill after January.
- Hochul said her decision was shaped by personal stories and family experience, including watching her mother die of ALS, after the bill's more than 10-year legislative effort this year.
- Lawmakers agreed to add strict guardrails including a mandatory five-day waiting period, a recorded oral statement, medical confirmation of a prognosis under six months, mental-health and in-person physician evaluations, and limits to New York residents.
- Supporters hailed the deal, saying it will reduce suffering and grant autonomy, with State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal calling it "a monumental victory" Wednesday, while Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the New York bishops condemned it as abandoning vulnerable citizens.
- Implementation will be delayed six months so the New York State Department of Health can issue regulations and prepare providers, while the New York State Legislature returns in early January and advocates plan education and outreach in the coming months.
83 Articles
83 Articles
NY Gov. Hochul to sign bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide: 'Who am I to deny you?'
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she plans to sign a measure to legalize medically assisted suicide for terminally ill patients under a deal reached with state legislative leaders.The governor intends to sign the bill next year after working to add a series of "guardrails," she wrote in an op-ed in the Albany Times Union announcing her plans. The measure, approved by state lawmakers during their regulation session earlier this year, will go into …
NY bishops ‘extraordinarily troubled’ by Gov. Hochul’s decision to legalize assisted suicide
(OSV News) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Dec. 17 that she will sign a bill that would allow physicians to aid terminally ill adults to die by suicide, making New York the 13th state, along with the District of Columbia, to legalize assisted suicide after Illinois did so earlier this week. New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and the bishops of New York State wrote in response that they were “extraordinarily troubled” by the announcement,…
Governor Hochul to sign Medical Aid in Dying Act
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)---While it wasn’t an easy decision, Governor Kathy Hochul said she has decided to sign Medical Aid in Dying into law next year after amendments are made. "Hopefully this will spare those who want to make the choice, because this is a choice, it must be a well informed decision by someone who [...]
New York City, Dec 17 (EFE).- New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the state legislature announced on Wednesday that they reached an agreement that will add this state to the list of 12 jurisdictions in the United States where assisted death is allowed. Hochul announced this Wednesday that it will make law the controversial bill, presented by Assemblyman Amy Paulin and Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, and approved in April and June, respectively. The n…
Catholic bishops speak out as New York governor pledges to pass assisted suicide bill
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, (pictured on Nov. 25, 2025, with Cardinal Timothy Dolan at a Catholic Charities Thanksgiving event to hand out turkeys and other foods), said she will sign a bill legalizing assisted suicide in the Empire State. / Cre... [...]
Assisted Suicide Heads to New York
Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) plans to sign a bill permitting assisted suicide for those who have less than six months to live. The bill is expected to be signed in January and will take effect six months later. “New York has long been a beacon of freedom, and now it is time we extend that freedom to terminally ill New Yorkers who want the right to die comfortably and on their own terms,” Hochul said in a statement. “My mother died of ALS, and I …
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