Gov. Kathy Hochul has once again made the wrong call, offering little more than token “safeguards” as she embraces doctor-administered euthanasia in New York. On Wednesday, the governor announced her intent to sign the “Medical Aid in Dying” (MAID) bill into law. This legislation gives state sanction to doctors providing life-ending “medicine” to terminally ill patients. Hochul’s only conditions are that recipients must submit written and recorded oral requests, wait five days, and receive approvals from both a physician (confirming a prognosis of six months or less to live) and a psychiatric professional (attesting to the person’s mental fitness).
It’s a classic Hochul move: trying to please everyone rather than taking a clear, principled stand against what is truly a terrible idea. While it may sound reasonable at first glance, a closer look reveals just how dangerous and despicable legalizing death-by-doctor can be.
MAID advocates argue that allowing “a dignified exit” for individuals suffering at the end of life is compassionate. They say patients can choose the circumstances of their passing—who could ask for more? But this seemingly warm and fuzzy narrative masks a chilling reality. Once the door to assisted suicide is open, the restrictions meant to contain it start to crumble.
Take Canada, for example. The country’s first assisted suicide law passed in 2016, initially limiting MAID to those facing a “reasonably foreseeable natural death.” By 2021, that requirement was lifted, and even those with chronic illnesses or disabilities could “choose” death-by-doctor. Reality is even darker: Numerous reports indicate some Canadian doctors have pressured vulnerable patients, especially the poor or disabled, toward euthanasia. With socialized medicine, the financial incentive for the state is undeniable.
The result? In 2022, just a year after these “reforms,” MAID became Canada’s fifth-leading cause of death. And New York’s version of the law is even weaker—it doesn’t require solid record-keeping, leaving voters in the dark about how quickly we might match Canada’s pace.
Canada isn’t stopping there. In 2027, eligibility will expand to include mental illnesses. Even physically healthy young people battling conditions like severe depression will become candidates for “medically assisted death.” Instead of treating illness, Canada and a handful of European nations are suggesting a lethal alternative: maybe those suffering are simply better off dead. The Netherlands and Belgium have already made euthanasia available for terminally ill children.
The slope is tragically slippery—and the destination, nightmarish.
Even before the inevitable expansions, Hochul’s version of MAID is riddled with flaws. Doctors are often wrong when predicting life expectancy or recovery chances. People may feel pressured to end their lives prematurely, worried about burdening their families emotionally, financially, or practically.
A civilized society works to prevent suicide—not enable it. Not from indifference to suffering, but because every life is valuable and worth fighting for. MAID turns healers into death-dealers and reframes ending your own life as “medicine.”
That is more than enough reason for lawmakers to reject this proposal, rather than giving Gov. Hochul cover for what would be a grave disservice to the people of New York.
https://nypost.com/2025/12/17/opinion/hochuls-bend-on-assisted-suicide-opens-a-grim-door-for-new-york/
