{"id":2525139,"date":"2025-12-26T08:13:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T13:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-legalizes-doctors-prescribing-death\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T08:16:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T13:16:38","slug":"new-york-legalizes-doctors-prescribing-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-legalizes-doctors-prescribing-death\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Legalizes Doctors Prescribing Death"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnew-york-legalizes-doctors-prescribing-death%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2525139&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she will sign the Medical Aid in Dying Act, wich permits mentally competent adults with a prognosis of six months or less to obtain medication to end their lives. The law specifies that such requests should not be classified as &#8220;suicide,&#8221; allows individual doctors and religiously affiliated facilities to decline participation but requires them to promptly transfer patients to a willing provider,and shields clinicians from liability for prescribing or refusing the medication. In an op-ed, Hochul cited personal experience with a loved one&#8217;s terminal illness as motivation.<\/p>\n<p>the Federalist&#8217;s Abigail Nichols opposes the bill, arguing prognoses are fallible, that the law conflicts with medical and mental\u2011health professionals&#8217; duties to prevent suicide and report suicidal ideation, and that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >normalizing assisted death<\/a> as healthcare risks expanding to people with depression. She cites California&#8217;s growing assisted\u2011death numbers (from 111 deaths in 2016 to 1,032 in 2024) as a warning and contends the policy could erode trust in the medical profession and harm vulnerable patients.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in an <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.vn\/N2t6Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">op-ed<\/a> last week that she will sign a bill legalizing medical assisted suicide for adults with a terminal illness.<\/p>\n<p>Hochul says she is passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act due to the &ldquo;genuine and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-hawley-says-biden-abortion-policies-are-an-insult\/\" title=\"Sen. Hawley says Biden abortion policies are an insult\">deeply held belief<\/a> that government must respect the rights and will of the people it serves.&rdquo; To qualify, an adult must be &ldquo;mentally competent&rdquo; and have a &ldquo;prognosis of six months or less to live,&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/nyassembly.gov\/leg\/?default_fld=&amp;leg_video=&amp;bn=A00136&amp;term=2025&amp;Summary=Y&amp;Actions=Y&amp;Memo=Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bill<\/a> states.<\/p>\n<p>The bill also makes it clear that anyone who makes the request for medical assisted suicide must not be considered &ldquo;suicidal&rdquo; and taking medication to intentionally end one&rsquo;s life should not be considered a &ldquo;suicide.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This move lets New York <a href=\"https:\/\/deathwithdignity.org\/states\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">join the club of 12 states<\/a> and the District of Columbia that preach suicide as a form of &ldquo;medical aid in dying.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Although the act will allow &ldquo;individual doctors and religiously affiliated health facilities&rdquo; to decline offering suicide as a form of treatment to those who are suicidal, doctors must &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/nyassembly.gov\/leg\/?default_fld=&amp;leg_video=&amp;bn=A00136&amp;term=2025&amp;Summary=Y&amp;Actions=Y&amp;Memo=Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">promptly<\/a>&rdquo; transfer requesting clients to a health care provider who is &ldquo;willing to permit the prescribing, dispensing, ordering or self-administering&rdquo; of suicide medication.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I heard stories of a parent or spouse pleading for an end to the suffering,&rdquo; Hochul, whose own mom died from ALS, writes. &ldquo;I am all too familiar with the pain of seeing someone you love suffer and feeling powerless to stop it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>I have never had any form of terminal illness, but I watched my mom fight cancer for five years and die. It&rsquo;s no easy thing to watch and I can conclude it&rsquo;s even harder to fight. Yet, that doesn&rsquo;t mean we should let our government allow the terminally ill to kill themselves as a form of so-called &ldquo;healthcare.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Prognoses Can Be Wrong<\/h2>\n<p>The entire framing of the bill adopts suicide into society as a form of medical treatment, putting suicide as a remedy option and medical professionals as death prescribers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The prognosis of a life span that acts as a qualifier for medical suicide is a theory or an educated &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/my.clevelandclinic.org\/health\/articles\/prognosis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prediction<\/a>&rdquo; that is never 100 percent guaranteed correct.<\/p>\n<p>Take <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/culture\/death-with-dignity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">J.J. Hanson<\/a>, an anti-physician assisted suicide activist who died from terminal brain cancer. At the time of his prognosis, he was given four months to live. Yet, &ldquo;the punctual activist was 3 years, 3 months, and 18 days late for an appointment&rdquo; that allowed him to meet his newborn who doctors said he&rsquo;d never get to meet.<\/p>\n<h2>Contradicting Duties<\/h2>\n<p>Hochul also <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.vn\/N2t6Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">writes<\/a> that &ldquo;a psychologist or psychiatrist&rdquo; must assess the patient to ensure they are &ldquo;capable of making the decision and not under duress.&rdquo; Licensed therapists and medical professions are <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/new-york\/mhy\/title-b\/article-9\/9-46\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">required by law<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysmandatedreporter.org\/MandatedReporters.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> when a client expresses intentions of suicide due to suicide being a clear sign of distress.<\/p>\n<p>Medical professionals have a duty to utilize the <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC3939995\/#:~:text=The%20strengths%2Dbased%20approach%20aligns,progress%20towards%20mental%20health%20recovery.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">strengths-based approach<\/a> that encourages resilience and confidence in ability, especially when it comes to client mental health and suicidal ideation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>These professions have an ethical responsibility to ensure the health and well-being of those they serve. This bill completely contradicts those duties and responsibilities.<\/p>\n<p>The New York bill also requires patients to sign their request to die and makes it clear that medical professions &ldquo;shall not be subject to&rdquo; liability for prescribing or refusing to prescribe suicide as medicine.<\/p>\n<h2>California&rsquo;s Climbing Numbers<\/h2>\n<p>When California first started prescribing death in 2016, 111 individuals died by medically assisted suicide. By 2024, that number <a href=\"https:\/\/deathwithdignity.org\/resources\/state-report-navigator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">increased<\/a> 800 percent, to 1,032 people, with the highest <a href=\"https:\/\/deathwithdignity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CA-2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">demographics<\/a> being white females in their 80s with malignant neoplasms. And the numbers will continue to climb.<\/p>\n<p>Adopting suicide as a medical intervention for the terminal ill will inevitably lead to suicide being prescribed for those diagnosed with depression. More than 49,000 people died by suicide in 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/suicide\/facts\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a> to the CDC. These people who want to end their life need help and support, not bills that encourage them to kill themselves.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day, a person can choose to take their own life. Yet, when the government steps in to allow healthcare workers to use suicide as a dignified medical form of care instead of helping them save lives and improve their overall health, it is a grave disservice to its citizens.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Having a terminal illness is already a life-shattering experience that is physically, emotionally, mentally, and financially arduous. The experience becomes even worse when medical professionals are not ethical, compassionate, and committed to advocate for solutions. Clients need a medical team they can trust who is committed to improving their overall physical and mental health. Opening the door to medical assisted suicide, one bill at a time, will only poison the profession, society, and take more lives.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Abigail Nichols is a correspondent for The Federalist. She was previously the opinion editor for the University of South Florida&#8217;s student newspaper, The Oracle. She is now working as the business manager at the University of North Florida&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-downplay-motives-of-alien-charged-with-attacking-jews\/\" title=\"Media Downplay Motives Of Alien Charged With Attacking Jews\">student-run media outlet<\/a>, Spinnaker Media, while obtaining a master&#8217;s degree in social work.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hochul will sign bill legalizing medical aid-in-dying<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3849,"featured_media":2525140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Hochul-e1766499521990.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[52086,27417,4762,32120,69501],"class_list":["post-2525139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-end-of-life-care","tag-euthanasia","tag-legislation","tag-new-york","tag-physician-assisted-death"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Hochul-e1766499521990.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2525139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3849"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2525139"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2525139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2525143,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2525139\/revisions\/2525143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2525140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2525139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2525139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2525139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}