Why physician-assisted suicide is gaining ground in Albany

Assisted by Shawn Ness

New from New York

Currently happening:

• Could this be the year that lawmakers approve physician-assisted suicide?
• Mayor Eric Adams defended Gov. Kathy Hochul after her mistake.
• New York sports legends visited the state Capitol today for a specific reason.
• The state Senate is passing a series of environmental bills.

A LONG SOUGHT LAW: Advocates have been fighting for a decade to legalize physician-assisted suicide in New York. They are hopeful that this year will bring an end to the battle.

During any busy week in the Capitol in Albany, it’s hard to miss the crowds of activists wearing bright yellow shirts and diligently distributing stickers to lawmakers and lobbyists.

Medical aid in dying, or the right for a physician to prescribe life-ending medication to suffering, terminally-ill patients, has long been a priority for hundreds of activists who have witnessed their loved ones suffer unnecessarily during their final days of life.

But in the past year, the movement to legalize physician-assisted suicide — which is already legal in California, New Jersey, and eight other states — has been gaining momentum.

The list of sponsors for the bill, now totaling 80 lawmakers, has steadily increased since the current version was introduced in 2016. State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and Assemblymembers Amy Paulin and Tony Simone held a rally this afternoon outside the Senate chamber in support of the bill.

Key groups like the New York Bar Association and New York Civil Liberties Union have also expressed support for the bill, helping to give it new momentum.

The Medical Society of the State of New York recently reversed its long-standing opposition to the Medical Aid in Dying Act last month.

Their goal is clear: Allow people to die with dignity.

Despite the growing support, the three individuals with the most power in Albany — Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins — have refrained from taking a stance on the bill.

Stewart-Cousins indicated that progress on the bill this year, with only 16 days left in the session, is unlikely.

“I believe this is a robust discussion, and obviously, we’re not there yet,” she said. “It’s a matter of information. It’s a matter of education, and then we get to see if we can actually do things that change life for the better.”

Despite increased opposition, the Catholic Conference of New York strongly opposes the measure.

Some doctors have also raised concerns that legalizing physician-assisted suicide could lead to a slippery slope where individuals who are not terminally ill but deeply depressed could exploit the law to end their lives. They point to examples of this happening in Canada.

Dr. Eve Slater, a clinical medicine professor at Columbia University and former assistant secretary to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has organized a group of medical professionals who oppose the bill.

She is concerned that physician-assisted suicide violates a key provision of the Hippocratic oath: First, do no harm.

“It is suicide, and, you know, they hope that somehow by involving a physician, that somehow makes it acceptable,” Slater said. She is also worried that the bill provides a way for those with non-terminal illnesses to shorten their lives.

“The lawyers argue, ‘Well, how can you deny it to my client when you’ve allowed it for somebody else?’” — Jason Beeferman

ADAMS DEFENDS HOCHUL’S ‘COMPUTER’ ERROR: Mayor Eric Adams strongly defended Hochul after she made a embarrassing mistake on Monday, stating that those who have criticized the governor are simply playing “word police.”

“I know her intentions, I know what she meant to say, and she was not trying to disrespect the people of the Bronx,” Adams said.

The governor made the now-criticized comments during a discussion with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California.

“Right now we have, you know, young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word ‘computer’ is,” she told Capehart while discussing a significant state investment in artificial intelligence computing.

She quickly apologized, stating in a release that “I misspoke and I regret it,” and Assembly Speaker Heastie stood by her saying, “I don’t believe that is where her heart is.” Stewart-Cousins echoed Heastie’s support earlier today.

Adams spoke at length to defend Hochul today during his weekly availability with reporters.

“When you make thousands of speeches, when you’re in front of the cameras all the time, when you’re trying to be authentic and say the things that you’re really feeling, one could sit back and do a critical analysis of every sentence you say and say ‘Oh you didn’t say it this way or that way,’” the mayor continued.

“So those who want to word police in this business, you go right ahead. The people of the Bronx knew where her heart was. She’s sincere about uplifting the people. We don’t always get it right.” — Jason Beeferman

TAKING A TEST DRIVE: State Sen. Andrew Gounardes took a test drive in a BMW outside the state Capitol today. The purpose of the legislation is to install speed limiters on cars in order to reduce traffic fatalities, with excessive speed being a factor in roughly one-third of deaths. The bill would require speed limiters, also known as governors, to prevent vehicles from exceeding the speed limit. This would only apply to “repeat offenders” who have accumulated a certain number of points on their license or received multiple speeding or red light camera tickets.

The technology uses geolocation to accurately determine speed limits, even distinguishing between passing and standard driving lanes. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Gounardes, emphasized the need to address reckless driving and expressed satisfaction with the technology after testing it himself.

Former Costa Rican President, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, advocated for the Sovereign Debt Stability Act outside the Assembly chambers to address debt crises in developing countries and prevent forced migration. Seventy-six percent of asylum-seekers in New York come from countries facing debt distress.

Senator Joe Addabbo brought in sports legends Tino Martinez and David Tyree to support the expansion of daily fantasy sports wagering. The bill would allow bets on individual athlete performances and is seen as a way to enhance existing sports gambling offerings.

Republicans have won a legal challenge against the Equal Rights Amendment in New York, citing procedural errors in its passage. Democrats plan to appeal the decision and continue to advocate for reproductive rights and equality. Governor Hochul remains committed to ensuring the ERA appears on the November ballot. — Bill Mahoney The legislation would prohibit the sale, possession, and production of Glock switches, clarifying that a handgun equipped with this mechanism is classified as a machine gun. Another bill, sponsored by Senate and Assembly Education Committee chairs Shelley Mayer and Michael Benedetto, would require the state Education Department to develop resources to inform parents about safe storage laws.

Many parents, including those new to the country or community, may be unaware of existing gun storage regulations for households with children under 18, according to New York United Teachers President Melinda Person. She emphasized the importance of educating parents on these laws to prevent accidents. The push for awareness is seen as crucial in light of past incidents of gun violence.

A separate effort spearheaded by actors Rosario Dawson, John Carroll Lynch, and Samantha Mathis aims to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the entertainment industry. Three bills are being proposed, one of which mandates that employers provide legal representation for contracts involving the digital replication of a person’s voice or likeness.

State Sen. Jessica Ramos, a sponsor of one of the bills, highlighted the need to update labor laws to keep pace with technological advancements like AI. She stressed the importance of obtaining informed consent from performers before using their likeness in AI applications. The proposed legislation also includes measures to restrict the use of AI in film productions and require advertisers to disclose its use in their content.

In other news, a prominent transit union leader is planning to sue Columbia University over alleged mistreatment of school staff during a recent building seizure. Additionally, residents in Manhattan are demanding water tests after a tenant was treated for arsenic poisoning, and Mayor Eric Adams has stated that New York City is prepared in the event that former President Donald Trump is jailed. Can you please rewrite this sentence?

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