NY Governor Kathy Hochul Seeks Changes to ‘Nightmare’ Assisted Suicide Bill

https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/ny-governor-kathy-hochul-seeks-changes-to-nightmare-assisted-suicide-bill/

New York Governor Kathy Hochul [pictured right] is requesting substantial changes to a “nightmare” bill that would turn New York into a destination state for physician-assisted suicide.

The New York Assembly approved the Medical Aid in Dying Act (AB 136) on April 29 in a 81-67 vote. The state Senate subsequently passed the bill on June 9 in a 35-27 vote.

The bill permits individuals with “an incurable and irreversible illness, with six months or less to live,” to kill themselves with a doctor’s help via a lethal cocktail of drugs.

Importantly, the bill currently contains no residency requirement, allowing terminally ill individuals from out of state to come to New York to end their lives. This provision would essentially ensure all Americans could access physician-assisted suicide.

The New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide has raised several additional concerns about the legislation, warning the bill would:

        *    Allow terminally ill persons to be prescribed lethal drugs without an in-person visit with a physician.

Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul [pictured left] wants to add a requirement that people videotape their requests for physician-assisted deaths, one of several conditions she’s put forward to sign the hotly debated Medical Aid in Dying Act.  

The Democratic governor proposed the amendments to the Legislature late last month, according to two people briefed on the negotiations but not authorized to speak publicly about them. Talks are ongoing, the people said.

The amendments are Hochul’s first foray into the wrenching debate over the topic, which has prompted lawmakers to share personal stories that touch on religious faith, individual liberty and their own experience caring for dying loved ones.

“I hear from a lot of people on that issue,” Hochul told reporters recently. “There are strong views on both sides of the spectrum — intense views on this. And I’m conscious of that, and it’s going to be a very weighty decision on me.”  Hochul is also pushing to create a seven-day waiting period for terminally ill patients who seek life-ending drugs from physicians. Another proposed provision would require all patients who ask doctors to help end their lives to undergo a mental health evaluation by a psychiatrist.