ALBANY, N.Y. – The New York State Senate passed a bill that would allow doctors to prescribe a pill to end the life of a person with a terminal illness. The bill, known as the Medical Aid in Dying Act, has been around for a decade but has never gotten this far.

It passed the New York State Assembly on April 29. The vote was 81 to 67, which means roughly 20 democrats voted against the bill.

Local Democrat Assembly members Bronson, Clark, Lunsford, and Meeks voted yes. Local Republican Assembly members Gallahan, Hawley, Jensen, and Manktelow voted no. Here’s what to know about the bill and debate around aid in dying.

Are medical staff required to participate in aid in dying?

Medical staff don’t have to participate in providing aid in dying if they don’t feel comfortable doing so. Under the bill, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, or anyone involved in the process can decline to help at any point.

However, like in all other medical cases, they do have to transfer relevant records to a new medical provider if the patient asks. The bill also does not force insurance to cover aid in dying.

Man who documented his death

Two months ago, News10NBC spoke with a Rochester woman whose brother opted for aid in dying in Washington State. Ethan Remmel was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer which spread to his bones and caused severe pain. The 40-year-old documented his death and wrote a goodbye post, published in Psychology Today, before he took the pill.

Proponents and opponents of the bill

Susan Rahn, a Webster resident living with stage-4 metastatic breast cancer, is watching the Senate feed closely because it will determine how she might end her life.

“Back in 2013, I was diagnosed with stage-4 metastatic breast cancer,” Rahn said.

Rahn has defied the odds living as long as she has, but in March, a scan showed cancer in her bones, and she knows the treatment will eventually stop working. She supports the Medical Aid in Dying bill.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “If you had the option right now, what would you do?”

Susan Rahn: “Right now? I wouldn’t do it because I’m not at that point. (But) I know what my death will look like. I’ve watched my friends in hospice go through it. I would rather leave this world peacefully than have my family watch me for however long it takes my body to die.”

Medical Aid in Dying would be available to people who are terminally ill, have an illness that is incurable and irreversible, have six months or less to live, are at least 18 years old, and have the mental capacity to make the decision.

Bob Bellafiore, spokesman for the New York State Catholic Conference, objects to the bill.

Berkeley Brean: “What’s your objection to this bill?”

Bob Bellafiore: “Look, for the first time in history, New York is on the verge of authorizing doctors to help their patients commit suicide.”

“The only person after today who is standing between New York and the assisted suicide nightmare that is unfolding in Canada will be Gov. Hochul,” Bellafiore said.

In Canada, a lawsuit expanded the practice to people without a terminal illness. In the Wall Street Journal, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City wrote, “Assisted suicide accounts for five percent of Canada’s deaths and is rising.” He said the vote in New York makes a “morally treacherous leap.”

“And what you’ve seen in Canada was something that starts with terminal illness and then expands to chronic illness, and then in 2027, they’re going to add mental illness like dementia,” Bellafiore said. “And anxiety and depression.”

Every advocate News10NBC has talked to says what’s happening in Canada will not happen in New York.

The bill only needs to be signed by Governor Hochul to become law. The governor has not made a public statement on the bill. Her office says she will review the legislation.

Twelve U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical aid in dying: California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

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