Key facts
- A federal lawsuit has been filed to block New York's Medical Aid in Dying law, scheduled to take effect August 5.
- Plaintiffs argue the law violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Affordable Care Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the U.S. Constitution.
- The lawsuit claims the law promotes suicide over necessary support and medical care for vulnerable individuals.
- The law allows mentally capable, terminally ill adults with less than six months to live to request medication to end their lives.
- Supporters contend the law is voluntary, respects patient autonomy, and offers a compassionate choice for those suffering.
Disability rights organizations have filed a federal lawsuit in New York to block the state's Medical Aid in Dying law, which is scheduled to take effect on August 5. The plaintiffs contend that the law illegally encourages vulnerable New Yorkers toward suicide rather than providing them with essential support and medical care.
The legislation, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in February, permits mentally capable, terminally ill adults with a prognosis of less than six months to live to request medication to end their lives. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, names Governor Hochul, the Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, and the state Board for Medicine as defendants. The plaintiffs are seeking to halt the enforcement of the law, asserting it violates federal statutes including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Affordable Care Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as well as the U.S. Constitution.
Advocates argue that New York is establishing an inequitable medical system, pointing to the potential for misdiagnoses and inaccurate life expectancy predictions by doctors. They allege the creation of a "two-tiered medical system" that denies life-saving interventions to disabled individuals while offering suicide prevention treatments to the able-bodied. Matt Vallière of the Institute for Patients’ Rights stated that disabled people are "offered death instead of the support programs everyone else gets."
The coalition challenging the law includes the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, the Institute for Patients’ Rights, Not Dead Yet, and the United Spinal Association. Individual disabled citizens have also joined the suit, including Rochester residents José Hernández and Anita Cameron, who expressed concerns that doctors might classify them as terminally ill and eligible for life-ending drugs if they lose current support systems. Hernández shared a personal anecdote where his mother, diagnosed with six months to live, survived for years with adequate treatment.
The plaintiffs also highlighted a perceived financial incentive and a lack of sufficient safety measures, noting that while a mental health evaluation is required, the law does not mandate treatment for underlying depression or suicidal ideation. Sharon Shapiro of the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled stated that legalizing assisted suicide while cutting community-based services sends a dangerous message that death is a solution for disability.
Supporters of the law, such as Veronica Darling from Compassion and Choices, reject these claims, emphasizing the law's voluntary nature and its protection of patient autonomy. Darling noted that disability alone does not qualify or disqualify someone from accessing the law and cited that 79% of Americans with disabilities support medical aid in dying. NYSDOH Commissioner Dr. James McDonald described the law as representing kindness for those suffering.
Additional safeguards within the law include a recorded verbal request and a signed written request witnessed by two neutral parties, confirmation of terminal illness by two different doctors, and a mandatory five-day waiting period before medication can be dispensed, though this can be expedited if the patient has less than five days to live. Patients must also self-administer the medication. Healthcare providers acting in good faith are protected from penalties, but those who refuse must transfer the patient to another provider. Individuals with a financial stake in the patient's death are prohibited from witnessing the written request.
New York's highest court ruled in 2017 that terminally ill residents do not have a constitutional right to a lethal prescription, but acknowledged that lawmakers could create a legal exemption through legislation. The Medical Aid in Dying bill passed after more than a decade of advocacy, with Democratic Assemblymember Amy Paulin and State Senators Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and Brad Hoylman-Sigal as key sponsors.