Photo courtesy Gov. Kathy Hochul
When Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) Act into law on Feb. 6, New York became the 13th state to authorize physician-assisted death. The legislation, which takes effect on Aug. 5, allows eligible terminally ill patients to end their lives through voluntary self-administration of a lethal dose of prescribed drugs.
Modeled after Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act (the nation’s first such law, enacted in 1997), MAID is available to state residents aged 18 or older expected to die from a medically confirmed illness within six months.
Unlike assisted suicide or euthanasia, which are illegal nationwide, MAID is a regulated medical process between dying, mentally capable patients and their physicians, created to alleviate suffering by hastening death.
A 2025 Sienna poll found that New York voters supported doctor-assisted dying by a margin of 2-1. A 2018 WebMd study found that two-thirds of physicians favor having it as an option in treating the terminally ill.
Both State Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D-41st) and Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-106) voted for the legislation.
In an email to the Herald, Barrett said, “The Medical Aid in Dying Act was the product of years of conversations with a wide variety of stakeholders with different points of view on this deeply personal matter. This bill includes […] protections for vulnerable communities, and allows mentally capable patients with terminal illnesses to choose the end-of-life care that they feel is best for them.”
New York’s MAID legislation has some of the most stringent guardrails in the nation. According to a Feb. 6 press release issued from Hochul’s office, the bill “makes sure people won’t be taken advantage of, while still ensuring terminally ill New Yorkers have the choice to die comfortably and on their own terms.”
The bill’s safeguards include:
- The determination of an individual’s eligibility must be made by two physicians (the prescriber and a consultant); the initial evaluation must be in person.
- A mandatory mental health evaluation must be conducted by a psychologist, neurologist, or psychiatrist.
- The patient must submit both written and oral MAID requests to his or her prescribing clinician, recorded on audio or video and witnessed by two people.
- There must be a five-day waiting period between prescribing and dispensing life-ending medication.
More than 20,000 eligible Americans have received end-of-life prescriptions in the past 30 years, according to the January 2026 “Medical Aid-in-Dying Utilization Report.” An estimated 61% (12,425 patients) died by ingesting the medications; the vast majority of those were enrolled in hospice and died at home. (The remaining 39% never took the prescribed drugs and succumbed to natural causes.)
Cancer is the most common diagnosis among patients who request medical aid in dying, closely followed by progressive neurologic disorders like Alzheimer’s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
Research by the College of Family Physicians of Canada shows that nearly all participating caregivers describe the assisted death process as peaceful and painless. Eligible patients self-administer a lethal combination of four or more oral drugs, which includes high doses of anti-nausea, sedative, anti-seizure, and heart toxic agents. The patient usually falls deeply asleep in five minutes and dies within an hour.
MAID expenses are not reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid, or private health insurance; the cost of the medication starts around $700. Patients who choose medical aid in dying are entitled to existing benefits of wills, life insurance, and annuity policies.