Lawmakers have wrapped up for the year in Albany, with the passage of some significant bills in the closing days of the session. Among them, the medical aid in dying bill. Both supporters and opponents are now lobbying New York Governor Kathy Hochul who has yet to say if she will sign it into law. The measure, passed by the Senate last week, would allow a person with a terminal illness to be prescribed life-ending drugs if they request the medication and get approval from two physicians.
Long-time North Country Republican Assemblywoman Janet Durpey spent the final few years of her legislative career fighting for the medical aid in dying bill, and then even returned to Albany after she retired from the Assembly to push for its passage. After her father suffered a painful death from Mesothelioma, Duprey says she then had to watch her mother die a slow and agonizing death. Duprey says losing her parents the way she did is why she was an early supporter of the Medical Aid in Dying Act. Duprey says it’s a choice every New Yorker should have the right to decide. Some Democrats and every single Republican voted against the bill, including North Country State Senator Dan Stec, who says he’s worried the legislation is a slippery slope.
The Catholic Church has also long been opposed to medically assisted suicide. A spokesperson for New York Governor Kathy Hochul said this past week that she would thoroughly review the legislation. North Country Assemblyman Billy Jones voted in favor of the bill.