“Assembly Majority today passed a bill to allow suicide-by-doctor in New York, taking a dangerous step that carries irreparable consequences. By inserting its authority into one of the most important aspects of human life—the decision to end it—they have crossed a line it has no business approaching.

The role of health care is to preserve life and provide the utmost comfort to those facing terminal illnesses and end of life. This legislation is severely flawed, not only in principle, but in lacking appropriate safeguards and requirements necessary to prevent abuse and misapplication. New Yorkers deserve holistic care, not legislation that treats death as a clinical option.

History has shown that once such policies are enacted, they are often expanded well beyond their original scope and nearly impossible to walk back. Instead of normalizing physician-assisted death, supporters of this bill should direct their efforts to better investments in palliative care and mental health services.

I hope that today’s passage in the Assembly is the last time we see this bill, and that neither the Senate nor the governor’s office take steps to make it law. We do not honor a person by hastening their death, but by affirming the value of life, even in its final chapter.”