Hochul Reaches Deal to Legalize Medically Assisted Suicide in New York With Guardrails

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that she has reached a deal with state legislative leaders to approve a bill that would allow terminally ill residents to end their own lives with prescribed medications. Hochul announced the agreement in an op-ed published in the Albany Times Union, saying she supports the proposal but that guardrails will be included before she signs it into law. The governor, who is Catholic, said she arrived at the decision after hearing from New Yorkers in the throes of pain and suffering and after considering opposition from individuals of many faiths who believe that deliberately shortening a life violates the sanctity of life. She said the measure would be accompanied by safeguards designed to ensure free will and prevent coercion, and that she plans to sign the bill into law next year with those changes woven into the proposal.

Under the Medical Aid in Dying Act, a terminally ill person expected to die within six months would be required to make a written request for life-ending medications. The request would have to be signed by two witnesses to help ensure it is voluntary, and the attending physician along with a consulting physician would need to approve it. The proposal adds several guardrails, including a medical doctor’s confirmation that the patient truly has less than six months to live, and confirmation from a psychologist or psychiatrist that the patient is capable of making the decision and is not under duress. A mandatory five-day waiting period would also be imposed, and the written and recorded oral request would be used to confirm that free will is present. Outpatient facilities affiliated with religious hospitals may elect not to offer the option. This would mark a narrowly tailored expansion of end-of-life options for New Yorkers and would apply only in the state’s health care system.

The legislation was first introduced in 2016 but stalled for years amid opposition from the New York State Catholic Conference and other groups that argued the measure would devalue human life and undermine the physician’s role as healer. In a reaction to Hochul’s announcement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and New York’s bishops said the governor’s position signals an abandonment of society’s most vulnerable, suggesting that life could be deemed not worth protecting in certain circumstances. Supporters, by contrast, contend that medically assisted death would spare terminally ill patients from prolonged suffering and allow them to die on their terms as they approach the end of life.

New York lawmakers approved the legislation in a recent regulation session, and Hochul said the bill she signs next year will incorporate the guardrails she outlined. Her spokesman emphasized that the changes would be woven into the proposal before she signs. The governor’s announcement comes as other states move forward with similar laws; Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law last week to permit terminally ill residents to choose to end their own lives. In the broader national context, roughly a dozen states and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of medically assisted dying.

Advocates say the measure would reduce unnecessary suffering for terminally ill patients and give them more control over the end of life, while opponents caution about the moral and ethical implications and the potential for pressure on vulnerable individuals. Hochul’s decision reflects a broader political calculus that weighs constituent experiences and faith-based concerns against arguments for autonomy and compassionate care. If enacted with the promised safeguards, New York would join a growing list of states that have enacted medically assisted dying laws, while continuing to grapple with religious and moral questions that have shaped public policy in the state for years. The legislation’s next steps will hinge on ongoing negotiations in the legislature and Hochul’s signature as the session advances toward year-end.