CV NEWS FEED // For the fifth time in a row, the New York legislature decided on June 7 not to pass an act that would have allowed terminally ill state residents to commit physician-assisted suicide.
As several other states have already done, the Medical Aid in Dying Act would have allowed terminally ill patients over the age of 18 with a “decision-making capacity” to request lethal medications from a physician for the purpose of committing suicide. Dying by lethal injections or infusions would not have been allowed.
According to the proposed Act, any terminally ill person who requested lethal medication with the intention of ending his or her life would not have been considered suicidal. The actual act of taking life-ending medications would also not be considered suicide.
Staten Island Live reported that the 2023-24 legislative session has now been completed, meaning that the bill cannot be reintroduced until January 2025.
According to the Good Newsroom, the Archdiocese of New York’s news platform, the Ulster Deanery Respect Life Committee celebrated the legislature’s failure to pass the Act. The Committee has been protesting the Act for months, and intends to continue raising awareness of the dignity of life.
“Anticipating the return of pro-euthanasia forces to Albany in the next session, our committee intends to keep advocating for the lives of our sick, elderly, disabled, and lonely neighbors against the false compassion of ‘assisted suicide’ as the cure for their ills,” said Deacon John Carr, deputy moderator of the UDRLC.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the New York Catholic Conference also opposed the measure.
“Assisted suicide is dangerous for patients, caregivers, and vulnerable populations such as the elderly and people with disabilities. Suicide is not medical care,” the Conference had stated, adding, “A state policy of physician-assisted suicide can only lead to coercion and abuse.”
CatholicVote also reported that in another statement, the Conference emphasized, “Implementing assisted suicide as an accepted medical ‘treatment’ sends the message that our most vulnerable populations are not worth the resources it might take to improve their lives.”
