New York is set to legalize medically assisted suicide with
'guardrails,' governor says
[December 18, 2025]
By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE and MICHAEL HILL
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York is set to become the latest state to
legalize medically assisted suicide for the terminally ill under a deal
reached between the governor and state legislative leaders announced
Wednesday.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul plans to sign the proposal next year after
pushing to add a series of “guardrails” in the bill, she announced in an
op-ed in the Albany Times Union.
Hochul, a Catholic, said she came to the decision after hearing from New
Yorkers in the “throes of pain and suffering,” as well as their
children, while also considering opposition from “individuals of many
faiths who believe that deliberately shortening one’s life violates the
sanctity of life.”
“I was taught that God is merciful and compassionate, and so must we
be,” she wrote. “This includes permitting a merciful option to those
facing the unimaginable and searching for comfort in their final months
in this life.”
A dozen other states and the District of Columbia have laws to allow
medically assisted suicide, according to advocates, including a law in
Illinois signed last week that goes into effect next year.
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act requires that a terminally ill
person who is expected to die within six month make a written request
for life-ending drugs. Two witnesses would have to sign the request to
ensure that the patient is not being coerced. The request would then
have to be approved by the person’s attending physician as well as a
consulting physician.
The governor said the bill's sponsors and legislative leaders have
agreed to add provisions to require confirmation from a medical doctor
that the person “truly had less than six months to live,” along with
confirmation from a psychologist or psychiatrist that the patient is
capable of making the decision and is not under duress.
Hochul also said the bill will include a mandatory five-day waiting
period as well as a written and recorded oral request to “confirm free
will is present.” Outpatient facilities associated with religious
hospitals may elect not to offer the option.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during a House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform hearing, June 12, 2025, at the U.S.
Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
 She added that she wants the bill to
apply only to New York residents. Earlier this month, a federal
appeals court ruled that a similar law in New Jersey applies only to
residents of that state and not those from beyond its borders.
Hochul said she will sign the bill into law next
year, with her changes weaved into the proposal. It will go into
effect six months after it is signed.
Later on Wednesday, Hochul said supporting the bill was one of the
toughest decisions she has made as governor.
“Who am I to deny you or your loved one what they’re begging for at
the end of their life?" she said. "I couldn’t do that any longer."
The legislation was first introduced in 2016 but stalled for years
amid opposition from New York State Catholic Conference and other
groups. The Catholic organization argued the measure would devalue
human life and undermine the physician’s role as a healer.
In a statement after the governor's announcement, Cardinal Timothy
Dolan and the New York's bishops said Hochul's position “signals our
government’s abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens, telling
people who are sick or disabled that suicide in their case is not
only acceptable, but is encouraged by our elected leaders.”
New York lawmakers approved the legislation during their regulation
session earlier this year. Supporters said it would reduce suffering
for terminally ill people and let them die on their own terms.
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