FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Governor Hochul Announces Agreement to Sign Medical Aid in Dying Bill in January
Portland, Oregon, December 17, 2025 – New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced she will sign New York’s Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) bill in January, following weeks of negotiations with legislative leaders on a series of amendments to the bill.
Under a rarely used provision called chapter amendments, the Governor negotiated for changes with legislative leaders, announcing today a framework to garner her final support for the bill. After the bill is signed, follow-up legislation will be introduced in January to codify the agreed-upon amendments.
In an op-ed published this morning in the Times Union, Governor Hochul wrote, “After careful deliberation, I decided to support legalizing medical aid in dying in very specific circumstances and with significant protections included in the law to ensure it is not misused.”
Death with Dignity’s Chief Marketing Officer, Elaine Fong, whose mother used Washington State’s Death with Dignity law in 2016, attended today’s announcement. This milestone comes more than a decade after the first MAID bill was introduced in New York.
“This has been a long, often painful journey, but Death with Dignity has fought alongside patients and families every step of the way,” said Fong. “New York state is ready for this law. Today, we honor the terminally ill New Yorkers and loved ones who advocated for themselves, and for the dignity and peace of those who will face this journey in the future.”
“For terminally ill New Yorkers, passage means something profoundly human,” Fong added. “Death with Dignity gives people the ability to make deeply personal decisions about how they want to die, guided by love for themselves and the people they leave behind.”
Fong said Death with Dignity lobbyists, the Mirram Group, and other advocacy partners, will remain actively engaged as final language is developed in the coming weeks to ensure patient access remains meaningful. The Governor is expected to request the bill delivery to her desk in late December, triggering a 30-day window to sign.
“For me, this has always been about patients–their humanity, their autonomy, and their right to be heard at the most vulnerable moment of their lives,” said Fong. “As Governor Hochul and legislators finalize these changes, we remain vigilant in ensuring the law truly serves the people it is meant to help. Our commitment to dying patients does not end with passage. It continues through implementation and beyond.”
Proposed amendments under discussion currently include a five-day waiting period, a required mental health evaluation, a New York residency requirement, and both a written and recorded attestation from the patient affirming their voluntary request.
For media inquiries, please contact Elia Lawatsch: [email protected].