Literature Review

Gov. Hochul reaches agreement with NY Legislature to pass Medical Aid in Dying Act NBC News 10, Rochester/Albany, NY; by Evan Bourtis; 12/17/25 Gov. Kathy Hochul has reached an agreement with the New York State Legislature to allow medical aid in dying for terminally ill people. ... Hochul announced the agreement and published an op-ed in the Times Union on Wednesday. In the op-ed, Hochul said she proposed changes to the bill’s language, which sponsors and legislative leaders have agreed to include. She said she’ll sign the bill once the legislature returns to Albany. You can read the op-ed here. ...  Hochul wanted more protections in the bill’s language. Here is the updated list of safeguards in the bill: ...

The hard questions behind medically assisted suicide PJ Media; by David Manney; 12/13/25 Before we start, I need you to know that I'm not advocating for medically assisted suicide (MAS). I do believe that I grasp why some people, in rare and specific circumstances, view it as a deeply personal choice. That belief comes not from emotion, but from watching the hardest years of suffering and listening to families stare at a future without mercy. As more states pass laws, including Illinois, which recently became the twelfth state to legalize medical aid in dying for terminally ill patients with strict criteria, the debate has grown far beyond politics, and into the core of how we treat the most vulnerable among us. ...Editor's Note: In the enacted Illinois statute known as “Deb’s Law,” the formal statutory term is neither “medical aid in dying” nor “medically assisted suicide,” but “aid‑in‑dying medication,” within the “End‑of‑Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act.” 

Canadian woman approved for assisted suicide instead of getting surgery LifeNews.com; by Steven Ertelt; 12/8/25 A Canadian woman suffering from parathyroid disease has revealed that she is considering assisted suicide because she cannot get the surgery she needs. Jolene Van Alstine, from Saskatchewan, suffers from a rare form of parathyroid disease, which results in extreme bone pain, nausea and vomiting. She requires surgery to remove a remaining parathyroid, but no surgeons in Saskatchewan are able to perform the operation. In order to be referred to another province for the operation, Van Alstine must first be seen by an endocrinologist, yet no Saskatchewan endocrinologists are currently accepting new patients. Van Alstine commented that the pain has become so unbearable that she has applied and been approved for Canada’s euthanasia and assisted suicide programme, with the ending of her life scheduled to take place on 7 January 2026.

Uruguay's legislature votes to legalize euthanasia, a first for South America CBS News; by Associated Press; 10/16/25 Uruguay's senate passed a law decriminalizing euthanasia on Wednesday, putting the South American nation among a handful of other countries where seriously ill patients can legally obtain help to end their lives. It makes Uruguay the first country in predominantly Catholic Latin America to allow euthanasia via legislation. Colombia and Ecuador have decriminalized the practice through Supreme Court decisions. ... Fierce debates and spirited activism around the practice has gripped the region in recent years. ... The law, which moved forward in fits and starts over the last five years, cleared its final hurdle on Wednesday as 20 out of 31 senators voted in favor. 

Assisted dying in practice: International experiences and implications for health and social care ehospice; full report by Sarah Scobie, Rachel Hutchings, Miranda Davies, Stephanie Kumpunen and Sarah Reed; 9/15/25 Exploring 15 jurisdictions across the world, this is the most detailed look to date at what the UK can learn from other countries as the UK and Scottish Parliaments debate bills to legalise assisted dying and potentially set up assisted dying services. ... The Nuffield Trust holds a neutral position on the ethical question of whether or not assisted dying should be legalised, for whom, and in what circumstances. We are committed to identifying evidence to support decision-makers in understanding the effects that legalisation may have. 

Would you go to a local Death Cafe? It's a chance to eat cake and talk end-of-life issues Times Telegram, Utica, NY; by Amy Neff Roth; 8/12/25 Key Points:

Terri Schiavo’s legacy: When to ethically stop life support Medscape; by Arthur L. Caplan; 8/30/25 Hi. I’m Art Caplan. I'm at the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. Twenty years ago this month, from the time I'm talking with you, in March 2005, a young woman named Terri Schiavo was allowed to die. It was one of the most controversial, and probably the most important, end-of-life-care cases ever to unfold in the United States. ... Do we have to make a more precise diagnosis of permanent vegetative state before we get into arguments about what to do next? I do believe also that it's important, if you are dealing with someone who's terminally ill or has a serious illness, to get the discussion going early about who's in charge. We still have fights between husbands, families, sisters, and cousins coming in about who has veto power or decision-making power. The earlier we can establish who it is that the patient wants to speak for them if they can't, the better. 

Physician end-of-life preferences expose stark differences Psychiatrist.com; by Denis Storey; 6/10/25 Clinical relevance: Research reveals that while most physicians prefer end-of-life comfort over life-extending measures for themselves, their views vary widely.

'Just support her': Brittany Maynard's husband says medical aid in dying helped him grieve USA Today; by Madeline Mitchell; 6/15/25 Some patients find comfort in medical aid in dying, which allows individuals with six months or less to live the option to obtain a medicine that can help them die peacefully at a time of their choosing. It's not considered euthanasia – which is when someone administers a lethal drug – because the patient takes the medicine themselves. Medical aid in dying is legal in 11 states and in Washington, DC. “A lot of patients really express this desire to shield family members from the agony of watching them die, and potentially having them witness a really traumatic or a really burdensome death," said Anita Hannig, an anthropologist and author of the book "The Day I Die: The Untold Story of Assisted Dying in America." Some caregivers say medical aid in dying helped in their grieving process, too. One thing (Compassion & Choices’ Jessica) Empeño, (Americans United for Life’s Catie) Kelley and Hannig agree on: When a patient asks to die, it's crucial to ask questions about their pain levels, comfort and mental health. Not every patient can or wants to move to one of the 12 jurisdictions that allow medical aid in dying. Moving can be expensive, and some patients don't have the physical ability or time to move. The best thing caregivers can do, Empeño said, is to advocate for their loved one and plan for their death. Ask questions about what the patient wants when they are dying, like if they want visitors in those final moments and who should make final decisions if the patient can't themselves. Guest Editor’s Note, Mark Cohen: Medical Aid in Dying is not going away. This article makes the point that the things that hospices do best—empathetic listening, asking thoughtful questions to guide patients in their healthcare decision-making—can benefit patients and families on both sides of this policy question. For a related article, see this column by Dan Diaz supporting removal of the sunset provision in California’s End of Life Options Act: “Husband of Brittany Maynard: Let’s make medical aid in dying permanent”; Sacramento Bee, 6/3/2025.

[Canada] Health leaders’ perspectives and attitudes on medical assistance in dying and its legalization: A qualitative studyBMC Medical Ethics; Amanda Yee, Eryn Tong, Rinat Nissim, Camilla Zimmermann, Sara Allin, Jennifer L Gibson, Madeline Li, Gary Rodin, Gilla K Shapiro; 5/25This study highlights the wide-ranging and complex attitudes health leaders may hold towards MAiD [Medical Assistance in Dying] and identifies the convergence of multiple factors that may have contributed to the legalization of MAiD in Canada. Participants identified six factors that they believed to have led to the introduction of MAiD in Canada: public advocacy and influence; judicial system and notable MAiD legal cases; political ideology and landscape; policy diffusion; healthcare system emphasis on a patient-centred care approach; and changes in societal and cultural values. Participants expressed wide-ranging attitudes on the legalization of MAiD. Some described overall agreement with the introduction of MAiD, while still raising concerns regarding vulnerability. Others held neutral attitudes and indicated that their attitudes changed on a case-by-case basis. Participants described four factors that they considered to have had influence on their attitudes: personal illness experiences; professional experiences and identity; moral and religious beliefs; and, the valence of patient autonomy and quality of life.

National group, Oregon Death with Dignity leader says ‘modernization’ bill strips safeguards The Lund Report; by Nick Budnick; 6/5/25 Barbara Coombs Lee, co-author of Oregon’s first-in-the-nation Death with Dignity law, as well as the national assisted-dying group Compassion & Choices, oppose parts of a state Senate bill that they say would remove key safeguards from the law. ,,, [The] group is “very much opposed” to some changes the bill makes, such as eliminating the “fail-safe” of requiring a second doctor vouch for the patient’s state of mind. The group does not support the bill unless it restores needed safeguards, she said. ... The bill makes the most significant changes yet to the law. It would shorten the mandatory waiting period to seven days from the current 15. It also streamlines requirements for institutions to notify patients of their Death With Dignity policies by allowing them to post notices on their websites, and permits electronic transmission of lethal prescriptions. 

Illinois House passes bill allowing terminally ill people to end their lives with physician’s help Chicago Tribune, Springfield, IL; by Jeremy Gorner and Addison Wright; 5/30/25 Legislation that would allow terminally ill people to end their lives with the help of a doctor was narrowly passed by the Illinois House and now heads to the Senate. It marks the first time a medical aid in dying bill has passed through one legislative chamber in Illinois since advocates unsuccessfully pushed for the practice to be legalized in the state last year. The bill passed late Thursday by a 63-42 vote, just three votes more than the minimum number required for bills to pass the House by a simple majority, with a handful of Democrats joining Republicans in voting against it.