After months of negotiations over a controversial measure that would permit doctors to help some terminally ill patients end their lives, sources told City & State that Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to announce a deal to sign it on Wednesday.
Lawmakers passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act for the first time earlier this year. Sponsored by state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assembly Member Amy Paulin, the bill would allow people with six months or fewer to live to request access to a cocktail of drugs that would end their life. Advocates for the measure have said it is a matter of compassion for terminally ill New Yorkers to end their lives on their own terms. But opponents, including some disability advocates and religious groups, consider it an immoral and dangerous law to implement.
Both sides have lobbied Hochul intensely over the bill since it passed and she has not publicly indicated her position. But sources familiar with the plans said that Hochul will announce that she and legislative leaders have reached a compromise for her to sign it. The governor’s public schedule released Tuesday night has her making a “health care announcement” in New York City at 3 p.m. It’s there that Hochul is expected to detail the deal, although she is not expected to sign the measure just yet.
According to the sources, Hochul got several changes that she had pushed for in negotiations. Gothamist reported earlier this month that Hochul had asked that the law include a requirement for patients to submit a video request for the life-ending medication, a waiting period to receive the drugs and for patients to receive a mental health exam beforehand. Politico New York reported earlier Tuesday that amendments included in order for Hochul to sign the bill will be slightly weaker than she initially pushed for.
A couple of polls from earlier this year found that a majority of New Yorkers supported the measure, but it has been fiercely opposed by religious groups.
The Assembly passed the bill 81-67 for the first time in April after hours of debate, with the state Senate following in June.
A spokesperson for the governor declined to comment.
