NY state to consider assisted suicide law

05062016p07phAdvocates for physician-assisted suicide are on a roll as they hope to parlay their West Coast momentum to the Empire State.

Bills introduced in the New York State Legislature this session would allow terminally ill patients — those who have been given a diagnosis of six months or less to live — to request a lethal dose of drugs from two physicians. They must prove themselves mentally capable and have two witnesses to their request.

Physician-assisted suicide, also known as aid in dying, is legal in Oregon and Washington, and will soon be in California, as a newly passed bill there becomes law. Vermont and Montana also allow for the practice. It has been legal in Oregon for 18 years, longer than any other state.

Among its opponents are the New York state Catholic bishops, who, as in other states, argue that allowing physicians to kill dying patients violates medical ethics and will be used against the poor, the lonely and the forgotten.  Source

The bill’s supporters “see this as a bellwether state,” Kathleen Gallagher, director of pro-life activities for the New York State Catholic Conference, told NCR.

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