New York’s health department has released proposed rules for the state’s new doctor-assisted suicide law, laying out how terminally ill patients would be able to request and take life-ending medication once the measure takes effect Aug. 5.
The law, which is expected to face legal challenges, has drawn sharp criticism from opponents who warn that it could open the door to a broader acceptance of assisted suicide and put vulnerable patients at risk.
The rules are intended to create guardrails around what supporters call “Medical Aid in Dying,” or MAID. They require patients to make two verbal requests, submit a signed written request witnessed by two people, and wait a mandatory period before a prescription can be filled.
Critics, including Archbishop Ronald Hicks of the New York Archdiocese, argue that the law reflects what he described as a growing “throwaway culture” that treats some lives as less worthy of protection.
“Sadly, the idea that all life is precious, deserving of care, protection, and dignity, has slowly disappeared from our culture,” Hicks wrote recently in First Things and said in remarks aired on the Catholic Faith Network.
The law allows terminally ill New Yorkers who are expected to live six months or less to request medication from a doctor to end their lives. The patient must be deemed mentally capable of making the decision and must take the medication themselves.
Under the proposed rules, a patient may use a tool or assistive device, but the final physical act must be performed by the patient. No one else is allowed to administer the drugs.
The state regulations do not specify which medications may be used. They do, however, state that the patient’s underlying terminal illness or condition must be listed as the cause of death.
Hicks and other opponents have warned that the law could eventually expand beyond terminal illness. He pointed to Canada, where assisted dying policies have broadened over time, as an example of what he sees as a dangerous slippery slope.
“When this law becomes effective, a new and frightening era begins in New York,” Hicks said. He questioned whether the policy could someday create pressure on the elderly, people with disabilities, low-income patients, or those in medically underserved communities to view assisted suicide as an expected choice.
He also raised concerns that government programs or insurance companies could influence end-of-life decisions if patients are viewed primarily through the lens of cost.
Supporters of the law say it gives dying patients control over deeply personal decisions at the end of life. They argue that terminally ill New Yorkers should have the option to avoid prolonged suffering and choose a peaceful death.
State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said the department is working to implement the law carefully.
“The Department is committed to implementing the law thoughtfully and responsibly,” McDonald said. He added that New Yorkers should have a chance to understand the safeguards meant to provide dignity and comfort at the end of life.
The proposed rules require a mental health evaluation by a psychiatrist or psychologist to confirm the patient has decision-making capacity. Both an attending doctor and a consulting physician must also agree that the patient has a terminal illness and is capable of making the request.
The rules also include a five-day waiting period between the time the prescription is written and when it can be filled. Anyone who could financially benefit from the patient’s death is barred from serving as a witness or interpreter.
Doctors must inform patients about available alternatives, including hospice and palliative care. Participation is voluntary, and physicians, pharmacists, and other health care providers cannot be punished for refusing to take part.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Catholic, defended the law when approving it, saying New York had made the right decision.
“Our state will always stand firm in safeguarding New Yorkers’ freedoms and right to bodily autonomy, which includes the right for the terminally ill to peacefully and comfortably end their lives with dignity and compassion,” Hochul said.
Hochul said her own experience watching her mother suffer from ALS shaped her view.
“New Yorkers deserve the choice to endure less suffering, not by shortening their lives, but by shortening their deaths,” she said.
