Albany, NY – After a decade of tireless advocacy, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D- Westchester) today heralded the impending passage of the Medical Aid in Dying Act A.136/S.138 (Hoylman-Sigal) in the New York State Assembly. The legislation, which she authored and has championed, will provide terminally ill New Yorkers with the compassionate option to end unbearable suffering peacefully.

The Assembly is scheduled to debate and pass the bill today, marking a transformative moment for end-of-life care in New York.

“For a decade, we have fought for this compassionate, commonsense legislation,” said Assemblywoman Paulin. “Today, we honor the brave advocates we have lost and fulfill a promise to countless New Yorkers who deserve autonomy, dignity, and peace at life’s end. It's time. I’m deeply grateful to Speaker Carl Heastie for his leadership and unwavering commitment to bringing this bill to the floor – it would not have been possible without his support.”

The Medical Aid in Dying Act allows terminally ill adults to request a prescription for medication they can choose to self-ingest to die gently in their sleep. New York will join ten other states and Washington, D.C., including nearby New Jersey, Vermont, and Maine, in offering this end-of-life option.

The Medical Aid in Dying Act includes rigorous safeguards to ensure that the law is used appropriately and responsibly. Only mentally capable adults with a terminal illness – verified by two independent physicians – who have a prognosis of six months or less to live are eligible.

Patients must make a verbal request, and submit a written request that is witnessed by two individuals, neither of whom can be a relative, heir, or someone affiliated with an owner, operator, or employee of the health care a facility where the patient is receiving care. The witnesses must both also have no financial interest in the patient’s estate. Patients must be capable of self-administering the medication, ensuring that the final act is a voluntary and deliberate choice. Additionally, physicians are required to inform patients of all available end-of- life care options, including hospice and palliative care. These safeguards, modeled after those in place for decades in other jurisdictions, have proven overwhelmingly effective – with no documented cases of abuse or coercion reported in the nearly 30 years of practice across the country.

“Passing this bill is about love, compassion, and reducing needless suffering,” Paulin added.

“No one should have to endure agony when there is a better, humane choice available.”

“This is about giving individuals autonomy, dignity and choice at the end of their lives,” Speaker Heastie said. “This legislation will give people the ability to choose to go peacefully in their sleep, and ensure there are critical safeguards in place. Thank you to Assemblymember Amy Paulin for her tireless advocacy and hard work on this legislation.”

“We’re halfway there to putting the Medical Aid in Dying Act on the Governor’s desk,” said Corinne Carey, Senior Campaign Director for NY/NJ for Compassion & Choices. “For her dogged determination in educating her colleagues and getting the bill over the finish line in the

Assembly, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin will forever be a champion, as will Speaker Heastie for his strong leadership in getting us to today. Now, all eyes and all of our amazing advocates turn our attention to the Senate,” Carey continued. “We are working with and counting on State Senator Hoylman-Sigal to be able to guide this bill to the floor – with the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins – and provide final passage of the Medical Aid in Dying Act before sending it to the Governor’s desk.”

“We are so grateful to Assemblymember Paulin for her extraordinary and tireless leadership in initiating this critically important bill and securing so many new sponsors over the years,” said David Leven, Executive Director Emeritus and Senior Consultant, End of Life Choices New York. “Having the right to end suffering and achieve a peaceful death with prescribed medicines is a matter of freedom and autonomy,” Leven added. “We are also very appreciative of the leadership of Speaker Heastie and his work to bring the Medical Aid in Dying Act to the floor for a vote,” Leven said.

State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sponsors the companion bill in the Senate.