New York will become the latest state to allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to patients when its Medical Aid in Dying Act takes effect on Wednesday, allowing eligible adults to request and administer drugs to assist them in committing suicide.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed the legislation into law on February 6, following years of debate, making New York the 14th U.S. jurisdiction to permit the practice.
Under the statute, a mentally capable adult resident of New York who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness expected to result in death within six months may obtain a prescription for life-ending medication after meeting a series of procedural requirements.
To qualify, the patient must be at least 18 years old, a New York resident, and confirmed by both an attending physician and a consulting physician to have an incurable and irreversible condition that will produce death within six months.
Under the law, the individual must demonstrate decision-making capacity and make a voluntary, informed request free of coercion.
The process requires an oral request that is audio or video recorded and permanently stored in the medical record, followed by a signed written request witnessed by two people who cannot benefit financially from the patient’s death.
A mandatory evaluation by a psychologist or psychiatrist is required to confirm capacity, and a five-day waiting period applies between the writing and filling of the prescription unless the attending physician determines the patient is likely to die sooner.
Hellbound and Down 