New York may debate three bills concerning assisted suicide. The assisted suicide bill allows suicide tourism.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

There are three assisted suicide related bills introduced in New York.

The first bill A 30 is a study bill requiring the commissioner of health to conduct a study relating to medical aid in dying. Study bills always raise a caution because you don't study an issue unless you are considering legalization.

The bill concludes: The commissioner of health shall submit a report including recommendations and findings based on this study to the governor, the temprary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and the chairs of the senate and assembly standing committees on health no later than December 31, 2020.

Most studies on euthanasia and assisted suicide have been intentionally one-sided. If this bill passes EPC - USA will challenge the New York commissioner of health to conduct a transparent, open and complete report. 

We do not oppose the debate we oppose fake debates.

The second bill A02694 would legalize assisted suicide in New York. 

This bill follows a similar construct to the current Oregon assisted suicide law. The writer of the bill has attempted to use clear definitions in response to critics who correctly argue that the Oregon assisted suicide law lacks clear definitions that are being interpreted in a wider manner.

This bill does not require the patient to be a citizen of New York. Therefore this bill allows suicide tourism.

This bill does not require a waiting period, which follows the new direction of the assisted suicide lobby. Therefore any person could quickly die by assisted suicide in New York.

This bill requires the physician to falsify the death certificate by requiring the physician to state that the cause of death is the medical condition and not assisted suicide.

All assisted suicide bills assume that it is possible to identify and safeguard a person who is being coerced, abused or living with situational depression or temporary feelings of hopelessness. You cannot bring patients back from a wrongful death.

There are likely other issues with this bill not stated in this article.

The third bill A647 would prohibit the payment of life insurance for assisted suicide / medical aid in dying. This bill would eliminate the incentive to coerce a person, who may be terminally ill, to be prescribed lethal drugs to assist a suicide.

Last year, an Australian man was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for assisting his wife's suicide to gain $1.4 million from her life insurance.