Both the New York Senate and Assembly passed the New York Medical Aid in Dying Act months ago. I discuss the bill in this video. We have been waiting for the Governor to sign the bill. Instead, she has proposed amendments.
Waiting Period
Most U.S. MAID states (as well as other jurisdictions) have reduced, eliminated, or permit waiver of the waiting period. They did this because substantial evidence shows that patients cannot wait 7-15 days.
Residency
Oregon and Vermont dropped residency requirements for MAID. The constitutionality of residency requirements in Colorado and New Jersey is being challenged in federal courts. But since no state residency requirement has ever included a temporal element, this is not a big barrier. Patients from Virginia travel to DC. Patients from Texas travel to California. And so on. If the New York residency requirement were the same as California's, terminally ill Pennsylvanians could still readily access MAID in New York.
Videotaped Requests
No U.S. MAID jurisdiction requires that requests be taped. But this could provide some safety that the request was voluntary and informed. I have defended broader videotaping of end-of-life healthcare wishes.
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