On April 29, the New York State Assembly passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act. This was followed by Senate passage on June 9 and as I write this the indications are that Gov. Kathy Hochul will soon sign the bill into law. If the bill becomes law New York will join Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, California, and the District of Columbia who already have assisted suicide laws.

The legislation will permit a terminally ill adult age 21 or older and expected to live six months or less because of a terminal illness who also has the ability to understand the consequences of health care decisions and who is able to communicate an informed decision to a doctor licensed to practice in New York to end their life.

The bill allows a person’s primary care doctor and the doctor who has responsibility for the care and treatment of the patient’s terminal illness to prescribe a lethal dose of medication for the patient that they can self-administer. The request for this medication must be made in writing or that is signed and dated by the patient and witnessed by two individuals who attest that the patient is acting voluntarily and has not been pressured in any way. Only one witness can be a relative and neither can be the patient’s heir.

The legislation states that if the attending physicians find that the patient suffers from a psychiatric disorder or depression causing impaired judgement the attending doctors must refer the patient for counseling. The bill stipulates that no medication to end the patient’s life can be prescribed, dispensed, or ordered until the person doing the counseling verifies that the patient is not suffering from impaired judgement. Opponents of the bill feel that all considering assisted suicide should be required to undergo a psychiatric evaluation

The MAID (Medical Aid in Dying) troubles me as it troubled the 20 Assembly Democrats who crossed over and voted with Republicans against the bill and troubled the New York Catholic Conference that also opposed it. According to polls we who oppose this legislation are in a minority. Even 65% of my fellow Catholics support this bill according to a poll commissioned last year. I am sure that most of those in support of assisted suicide are well meaning persons who truly are saddened by the site of friends and relatives suffering with terminal conditions.

However, we should all remember that doctors’ diagnoses are not always infallible, which is why some seek second opinions. I’m sure many of you have heard stories about people given only a few months to live who end up surviving for many years.

The MAID bill has no requirement that the physicians conduct their examination in person permitting it to be done virtuality. Having undergone a virtual examination during COVID-19 I know that virtual exams are rather cursory compared to an in person exam. A virtual exam, even when doctors have access to patient medical records leaves room for errors and should not be allowed in what is literally a life and death situation

In an age when medical science constantly adds new medications and procedures that includes pain management medications and new techniques like hospice care it is possible

even when burdened with terminal illnesses and conditions to live out one’s final days in relative comfort surrounded by family and friends.

The legislation sends out a troubling message that life ceases to be worth living when it seems too difficult or nears its end. The legislation is counterproductive to the suicide prevention programs offered by the the New York State Department of Mental Health who recently issued a report stating that in New York suicide is the second leading cause of death among ages 25 to 34.

According to an analysis by the Center for Disease Control U.S. suicide rates reached record highs in 2024 hitting levels not seen since 1941. Further the report points out that national suicide deaths among 10- to 24-year-olds increased by 62% from 2007 to 2021. Is there a correlation between rising suicide rates and assisted suicide? I don’t know but I think that it should be examined.

In countries that already have assisted suicide it seems that once you cross the line from the preservation of life to allowing the hastening of death, safeguards are often eroded leading to expansions in eligibility.

Canada passed a MAID law in 2016 which stipulated that it was for adults with a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” whose death was reasonably foreseeable, but it was later expanded to include those whose deaths were not reasonably foreseeable.

In 2006 the Netherlands became the first nation to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. In 2023, 22 persons under the age of 30 ended their lives for psychiatric reasons and in 2024 death by euthanasia increased by 10% with doctors warned to exercise “great caution” when an individual has a psychiatric illness. This erosion of safeguards led to tragedies like the Dutch doctor who granted euthanasia to a woman in her 70s who wanted to die because after a spinal fracture she could no longer fulfil her obsessive-compulsive need to clean.

I suspect that we are seeing more support for MAID legislation because many feel that if our life is not perfect it is alright to opt out of it. I believe that human life is the greatest gift we receive and not something to be cast away when it seems less than perfect. We should cherish that life and live it to the fullest until natural death.

Tom Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com.