Current Status
Introduced on February 1, 2021, by Assemblymember Amy Paulin, the Medical Aid in Dying Act, A4321, has multiple co-sponsors and continues the history of the New York Assembly toward passage of a medical aid in dying law. The bill was referred to the Assembly Health Committee.
A Senate companion bill, S6471, was introduced on April 30, 2021 by Senator Diane Savino. The bill was referred to the Senate Health Committee.
Introduced January 6, 2021 by Assemblymember Kevin Cahill (U), District 103, and assigned to the Assembly Committee on Health, bill A198, if passed, would require the Commissioner of Health to conduct a study relating to medical aid in dying in the event that New York State allows for medical aid in dying.
Watch progress on our Legislative Tracker.
Take Action
Find more actions here.
Our Partners
We’re participating in an advocacy coalition called the New York Alliance for Medical Aid in Dying, which also includes Death with Dignity-Albany, End of Life Choices New York (formerly Compassion & Choices of New York), and Compassion & Choices. Learn more here.
Resources
New York State Assembly website
Death with Dignity Legislative Tracker
Endorsements
The following organizations have endorsed the medical aid-in-dying legislation:
Healthcare
- New York State Academy of Family Physicians: “Family Physicians are unique in that we are blessed to care for patients and their families throughout the lifespan, quite literally from cradle to grave. Supporting the authorization of medical aid in dying is commensurate with the Family Physician’s desire to empower our patients not only in their pursuit of wellness, their management of chronic disease, but also the alleviation of suffering when faced with a terminal illness.”
- New York State Public Health Association
- New York Statewide Senior Action Council
Other Fields
The Arc New York asserts that any rights included in any laws legalizing medical aid in dying should be guaranteed to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Polling
- An 2018 Quinnipiac University poll shows 63 percent of New York residents support medical aid in dying.
- A January 2019 poll shows 56 percent of New York physicians support medical aid in dying, while 67 percent support the aid in dying legislation under consideration.
History
2020
The New York Medical Aid in Dying Act was under consideration in Assembly and Senate committees, co-sponsored by 40 Assemblymembers and 13 Senators. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, the New York State Legislature suspended its 2020 session and the bill did not advance.
2019
A 2694
- Introduced on January 28, 2019
- Title: Medical Aid in Dying Act
- Full text of A 2694
- Legislative history of A 2694
- Referred to the Assembly Health Committee; re-referred again in 2020 with 10 additional co-sponsors
- Primary sponsor: New York State Assemblymember Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale)
- 36 co-sponsors: Assemblymembers Abinanti, Arroyo, Blake, Carroll, Cruz, Darling, Dinowitz, D’Urso, Epstein, Fall, Fernandez, Frontus, Galef, Gottfried, Griffin, Hevesi, Jaffee, Jones, Lavine, Lupardo, M. Miller, M.G. Miller, Mosley, Ortiz, Quart, Reyes, Rivera, Rodriguez, Rosenthal, Sayegh, Seawright, Simotas, Steck, Thiele, Vanel, and Woerner
- 3 multi-sponsors: Assemblymembers Braunstein, Crouch, and Lifton
S 3947
- Introduced on February 21, 2019
- Title: Medical Aid in Dying Act
- Full text of S 3947
- Legislative history of S 3947
- Referred to the Senate Health Committee; re-referred again in 2020 with 5 additional co-sponsors
- Primary sponsor: New York State Senator Diane J. Savino (D-23)
- Co-sponsors: Senators Alessandra Biaggi, John E. Brooks, Pete Harckham, Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), Robert Jackson, Liz Krueger, Jen Metzger, Velmanette Montgomery, Jessica Ramos, Gustavo Rivera, Julia Salazar, and Luis R. Sepúlveda
Related Bills in the 2019 Session
- A 30 – “relates to requiring the commissioner of health to conduct a study relating to medical aid in dying”
- S 647 – “relates to prohibiting insurance coverage for physician assisted suicide”
2018
New York State Assemblymember Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale), together with 23 co-sponsors and 4 multi-sponsors, have sponsored A 2383, Medical Aid in Dying Act, introduced on January 23, 2017. The bill was referred to the Health Committee, and re-referred on January 3, 2018.
If I am terminally ill, I should be able to choose to end my life calmly, peacefully and in a dignified way, at a time and in a setting I choose where I am surrounded by those I love. That is what my bill is about.
New York State Senator Diane Savino (D-N Staten Island/S Brooklyn) together with co-sponsors, Senators Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), Liz Krueger (D-28), and Marisol Alcantara (D-31), are behind the identical companion bill, S 3151.
Neither bill came up for a vote in the 2017 session.
In 2018, hearings on the two bills took place on April 23 (in Albany) and May 3 (in New York City).
- Video from 4/23 hearing (<4 hours)
- Video from 5/3 hearing (<10 hours)
Other Bills
New York State Senator John Bonacic (R) introduced a similar bill, S2045, on January 11, 2017; the bill died shortly after. Another similar bill, A 3598, End of Life Options Act, was sponsored by Assemblymembers Linda Rosenthal with 5 co-sponsors and 1 multi-sponsor; it was re-referred to the Health Committee on January 1, 2018.
A bill prohibiting insurance companies from covering “physician assisted suicide,” including medical aid in dying drugs, S3989, was also introduced in the State Senate the 2017 session and referred to the Insurance Committee.
On May 10, 2016, A 10059, Medical Aid in Dying Act, was introduced in the New York state legislature (the companion bill in the Senate is SB 7579). On May 23, 2016, the bill passed in the Assembly Health Committee 14 to 11.
The bill was a combination of two pairs of companion bills that had been pending in the New York legislature since January 2015:
- A5261, Patient Self-Determination Act, sponsored by Rep. Paulin and its companion SB 5814, Patient Self-Determination at the End of Life Act, sponsored by Sen. John Bonacic (R-Middletown); and
- A2129, New York Death with Dignity Act, sponsored by Rep. Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), and its companion SB 3685, New York End of Life Options Act, sponsored by Senators Savino and Hoylman.
Pre-2016
New York legislature had considered physician-assisted dying bills a number of times since Oregon’s law passed:
- 1995 (S 1683, S 5024-A, A 6333)
- 1999 (SB 4834)
- 2001 (SB 677)
- 2012 (AB 9360).
In May 2016, a state appellate court upheld a lower-court ruling that state residents have a right to refuse medical treatment but physicians do not have the right to help them die.
