By Hank Russell
A bill that would allow medical professionals to assist patients who do not want to use artificial resuscitation to stay alive is currently sitting on Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk. This piece of legislation has been very controversial, with one side allowing people to “die with dignity,” while others argue that human life should be preserved at all costs.
The Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) Act would allow terminally ill patients to use medication to end their own lives. In order to do this, the patient must verbally request the medication, then submit a written request to the patient’s attending physician. The patient can take the medication themselves only if the physician deems the patient’s medical condition to be irreversible and the patient was able to make an informed decision.
Further, the bill calls for the patient to sign the request in front of two witnesses who cannot be related to the patient, an heir or domestic partner. The witnesses cannot be those with power of attorney, the attending and consulting physicians, a health care proxy or the health care facility’s employee, owner, operator or independent contractor.
The Assembly version introduced by Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale) passed on April 29 by an 81-67 vote. Local cosponsors included Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills), Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove), Tommy John Schiavoni (D-Sag Harbor), Noah Burroughs (D-Hempstead), Kwani O’Pharrow (D-Lindenhurst) and Philp Ramos (D-Central Islip).
On June 9, the Senate version that was sponsored by Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D, WF-Manhattan) passed. The vote was 35-27.
If Hochul signs MAID into law, New York will become the 13th state in the nation to have such legislation on the books. The governor has not decided whether or not she will sign the bill.
Some support the bill, saying it will end patients’ suffering, while others say that it trivializes human life. Long Island Life & Politics recently published an op-ed supporting the bill. According to a LILP poll, 45% supported MAID, while 30% were opposed and 25% had no opinion.
Dr. Jeremy Boal, the former chief clinical officer of Mount Sinai Health System, told Newsday that he supports the bill. “Even with the best palliative and hospice care, people will live and die in agony,” he said. Boal has been diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — and is confined to a wheelchair, according to the outlet.
The Long Island Coalition for Life (LICL), however, spoke out against MAID.
“LICL opposes the intentional killing of a human being through euthanasia, whether by active intervention or by omitting treatment,” the group said in a statement. “We approve the accepted medical practice of administering pain-relieving drugs in whatever dose necessary to alleviate the suffering of a terminally ill patient as long as there is no intent to administer or to withhold treatment from a patient in order to bring about or hasten the patient’s death. We do not oppose the withdrawal of inappropriate medical intervention, which serves only to prolong the act of dying when there is irrefutable evidence that biological death is imminent.”