Senate Bill S138

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to the medical aid in dying act

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status Via A136 - Passed Senate


  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

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2025-S138 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A136
Law Section:
Public Health Law
Laws Affected:
Add Art 28-F §§2899-d - 2899-s, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2015-2016: A10059
2017-2018: A2383
2019-2020: A2694
2021-2022: S6471, A4321
2023-2024: S2445, A995

2025-S138 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the medical aid in dying act; relates to a terminally ill patient's request for and use of medication for medical aid in dying.

2025-S138 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S138 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    138
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
   when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to a  terminally  ill
   patient's request for and use of medication for medical aid in dying

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited  as  the  "medical
 aid in dying act".
   §  2. The public health law is amended by adding a new article 28-F to
 read as follows:
                               ARTICLE 28-F
                           MEDICAL AID IN DYING
 SECTION 2899-D. DEFINITIONS.
         2899-E. REQUEST PROCESS.
         2899-F. ATTENDING PHYSICIAN RESPONSIBILITIES.
         2899-G. RIGHT TO RESCIND REQUEST; REQUIREMENT TO OFFER  OPPORTU-
                   NITY TO RESCIND.
         2899-H. CONSULTING PHYSICIAN RESPONSIBILITIES.
         2899-I. REFERRAL TO MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.
         2899-J. MEDICAL RECORD DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.
         2899-K. FORM OF WRITTEN REQUEST AND WITNESS ATTESTATION.
         2899-L. PROTECTION AND IMMUNITIES.
         2899-M. PERMISSIBLE REFUSALS AND PROHIBITIONS.
         2899-N. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS AND CONTRACTS.
         2899-O. SAFE DISPOSAL OF UNUSED MEDICATIONS.
         2899-P. DEATH CERTIFICATE.
         2899-Q. REPORTING.
         2899-R. PENALTIES.
         2899-S. SEVERABILITY.
   § 2899-D. DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS ARTICLE:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

Comments

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mamaditto
1 month ago

This legislation poses a grave threat to the most vulnerable among us—especially the elderly, the disabled, and those allegedly facing serious illness. Doctors are fallible human beings and can unintentionally misdiagnose.
There is no constitutional "right to die." New York State has no obligation to facilitate suicide.
In a just society, there is no Final Solution for the aged, the infirm, or the seriously ill.

mamaditto
1 month ago

There is no constitutional "right to die. New York State has no obligation to facilitate suicide.

Amber_Mason
1 month ago

"dignity in dying" is a nice buzzword for a brutal concept that is rarely used appropriately. Just look at how Canada has botched MAID since 2020...

Emma_Farley
1 month ago

This is a threat to all marginalized individuals.

Ethel_Handler
1 month ago

This law will legalize discrimination against disabled individuals - and not just any discrimination: but murder.
In Canada, MAID accounts for 4.7% of population deaths. And the numbers keep on growing as the law is amended to legalize it for more people. Is this what we're really looking to bring to New York?

Gregory_Lopez
3 weeks ago

Being genetically predisposed to cancer and watching both my parents die at a young age, I am in strong support of this bill, and am considering moving out of New York so I can live out my final days in a state that actually permits me the medical autonomy I deserve should New York not pass this bill.

Opponents either have to make unsubstantiated claims or turn to other countries with completely different legal traditions and laws than the US in order to make their case. The reason they do so is simple: because they can't make their case otherwise using relevant data.

There's not a single case of documented abuse in US-style laws, which all follow similar language, all explicitly restrict MAiD to the terminally ill, and none of which have gone down the "slippery slope" opponents invent in the almost 30-year history of MAiD has been legal in the US. Slippery slope arguments are an elementary logical fallacy taught in all basic critical thinking classes. Laws don't magically transmogrify themselves, and 115 jurisdiciton-years of evidence proves that the NY Medical Aid in Dying Act will not pose any threat to marginalized communities.

While the opposition invents possibilities, real New Yorkers die suffering and against their values. New Yorkers like Brian Moffett and Ayla Eilert, both of whom died in agony because the Senate failed to act.

The NY Senate can stop the suffering and follow the evidence if they choose. Or they can choose to ignore real suffering and almost 30 years of relevant safety evidence because of mere hypotheticals, harmful fear-mongering, and religious conservatives who want to force their religious values onto New Yorkers' bodies, just like they attempted to during the 2019 Reproductive Health Act debate.

I hope the NY Senate doesn't fall for pseudo-secular, religiously motivated specious arguments, just like they didn't in 2019. Choose wisely. Pass S138.

Gregory_Lopez
3 weeks ago

As someone with a genetic predisposition to cancer, I strongly support S138. The bill has multiple safeguards that have been proven to work for almost 30 years in the US. Opponents must turn to foreign countries for examples of abuse -- or just make up hypotheticals out of thin air -- because there's no good evidence of abuse in the US versions of MAiD. If New York doesn't pass this, I'm seriously considering moving to a state that won't force me to endure a painful death against my will. NYers deserve the right to die on our own terms, not the religious right's.

Mary_Ganapol
2 weeks ago

New York has the historic opportunity to join the other 11 jurisdictions on approving this patient-centered, secular healthcare decision. Decades of MAID laws with proper safeguards -- as also shared in S138 -- have proven it to be used by a small population wanting patient autonomy for this end-of-life option.

Carol_Chrzanowski
2 weeks ago

Please oppose this bill. You are asking doctors to play God and this is not something we need here in New York or anywhere else.

Susan_Jane_Golding
1 week ago

I am suffering from end stage cancer. I am in constant pain. I hope whoever opposes this bill has the opportunity to experience what I have been through. Stop inflicting your religious beliefs on others and mind your own business. Senator Hoylman-Sigal is my hero.

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