New York Governor Kathy Hochul is moving the Empire State toward legalizing medical-assisted suicide, rebranding it as “medical aid in dying.”
You don’t “aid” dying. Dying happens on its own. The state is approving of the intentional ending of human life.
In an op-ed published by the Times Union, Hochul made clear that she intends to sign the so-called Medical Aid in Dying Act, which would allow terminally ill patients with fewer than six months to live to receive drugs designed to “speed up the inevitable.”
Supporters describe the proposal as “compassionate.” Opponents describe it far more bluntly: state-sanctioned suicide.
In her op-ed, Hochul attempted to wrap the legislation in lofty language about America’s founding principles, claiming that “limited government and broad individual rights” somehow justify empowering doctors to help patients end their lives.
She framed the issue as one of “bodily autonomy,” placing assisted suicide alongside abortion, LGBTQ ideology, and other far-left priorities New York Democrats have aggressively pushed for years.
For the modern Left, “choice” is the ultimate moral trump card, even when that choice involves ending a human life.
New York leads with compassion.
Medical Aid in Dying gives terminally ill New Yorkers the option to face the end of life with dignity, comfort, and peace. pic.twitter.com/fgXtwECvLc
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) December 17, 2025
During the press conference, Hochul said:
“So none of us are immune from that. Such as life and so is death — two forces in life that are inevitable. And so I was moved by their courage and I wanted to help them put an end to a decades long journey and say, “You can rest now. Your loved one has been honored in a way that is profound. And to the extent that you’re still wounded, suffering, questioning yourself, may you rest in peace yourself in this life, may you not have that trauma and that angst any longer.” That’s what I wish for all my friends here.
So, I’m proud to announce that after weeks of negotiating with the Legislature, we are now going to be making medical aid in dying available to New Yorkers going forward.
And I reflected on this in something I spent a lot of time writing, and I thought about our country too — what our country was all about, what it was built upon, what was the core belief, and it was about individual rights, respecting people, their ability to worship who they choose to worship and to be able to speak freely, to assemble.
And these protections were enhanced over time. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, reproductive rights. We’ve always — especially in the State of New York — been proud of our progressive beliefs in moving progress forward and individual rights that are so sacred to us here in New York and in this country, and realizing that government sometimes stands in the way of those individual rights.
That’s what I reflected on. The Founding Fathers 250 years ago envisioned a more limited government focusing on individual rights, and it is that confluence of thought that brought me to where I am today, processing also, the fact that I was raised in a strong, Catholic family. And for many, this is a moral decision, a moral judgment, and there are members of the faith community who will not accept or understand this decision I’ve made on behalf of not myself, but for 20 million New Yorkers.
No one has to do this. It’s a choice, but a choice that is made in a situation that no other state is asking for. You need to know this — need to know. I needed to know that when I heard voices of some who feared duress, that there would be someone who was tired of taking care of someone, someone with a disability or someone who was elderly and just said, “I can’t do it anymore.”
That there could be coercion, duress, and pressure put on people. And I was concerned about that and I said, “How can we get out from under that?” That everyone will know that someone who makes that decision did it of free will, not under pressure. And so, those are some of the constraints I put around this.
They’re not impossible, but they give me the confidence to know that those voices that were so concerned about this, that I’ve addressed them. I have addressed them. Also to ensure that someone is examined by doctors. And also an individual who can determine, “Does this person have the capacity, the mental ability to make this decision?” I need to know that.
I needed to know that someone truly only had six months to live. So the concerns, again, people in certain communities who said, “They’ve had a lifelong disability or illness.” A doctor has to say, “You have six months to live, and that is it.” That is what we’re saying is why the guardrails here in the State of New York, and this is for New Yorkers and any hospital for because of their religious beliefs, who does not want to offer this, is not going to be required to. Not going to be required. I need to let them have their free will as well and let them operate in the moral or religious environment that they choose and believe is important. I need to protect their rights as well.
But in doing so, I believe we’ve crafted an elegant solution to a problem that people have fought for, but also wrestled with for a long time. Because I want you to know, I did not arrive at this lightly. But my last thoughts were sitting at a funeral — a Catholic funeral — Saturday morning this past weekend. And I heard the priest talk about being called home to eternal life. And I realize we’re not talking about ending life early. We’re about ending dying early, and so people can transition surrounded by family loved ones, not in a hospital bed with strangers at a time when they just slip away after grueling pain, sometimes just unbearable for a loved one to even witness. That to me is what dignity’s all about.
And if a New Yorker chooses to have that under the circumstances we pre-designated, then who am I to stand in their way? That is where I’m at today with this decision.
So we have our safeguards, you can read them all, but this is one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made as Governor. So I spent a lot of time on this, talked to a lot of people, but I want these people behind me to know, it was their stories that touched my heart the most. Because who am I to deny you or your loved one what they’re begging for at the end of their life?”
In Canada, assisted suicide was initially limited to terminal illness. It has since expanded dramatically, including cases involving mental illness and disabilities. New York is now firmly on that same slippery slope.
New York will join 12 states and Washington, D.C. that have legalized medical aid in dying.
- California (End of Life Option Act passed in 2015)
- Colorado (End of Life Options Act passed in 2016)
- Delaware (becomes legal in January 2026)
- Hawaii (Our Care, Our Choice Act passed in 2018)
- Illinois (effective January 2026)
- Maine (Death with Dignity Act passed in 2019)
- Montana (legal via a 2009 State Supreme Court ruling, not specific legislation)
- New Jersey (Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act passed in 2019)
- New Mexico (End of Life Options Act passed in 2021)
- Oregon (Death with Dignity Act passed in 1994, enacted in 1997)
- Vermont (Act 39 passed in 2013)
- Washington (Death with Dignity Act passed in 2008)
- Washington, D.C. (Death with Dignity Act passed in 2016)
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