Holding Court is a series by retired Rye City Court Judge Joe Latwin. Latwin retired from the court in December 2022 after thirteen years of service to the City.
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By Joe Latwin
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19. See also, George Michael and Andrew Ridgelye (a/k/a Wham!) Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.
New York has chosen death. The State Legislature recently passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act (“MAID”) Public Health Law Art. 28. This law allows people to get medical assistance in committing suicide. It had noble goals: to limit the suffering and pain in the terminally ill, but it creates so many and expensive hurdles that as a practical matter, it won’t be frequently used (thank goodness).
To be eligible you must be older than 18 (apparently its okay for 17 year olds to suffer); be a NY resident (people visiting from Connecticut must suffer); having a medically certified terminal, irreversible illness likely to cause death within six months, be mentally capable of making an informed decision (people with dementia must suffer), be free of undue influence, and be personally able to ingest the fatal medication (some disabled folks will just have to continue suffering).
Like many efforts of the Legislature, they try to cover every contingency and render their remedy unworkable and expensive. Remember when they gave Rye permission to have resident only parking and they required an excessive number of handicap spots making the program unworkable? There are several critical protective provisions in the MAID law. Two physicians must certify the person’s terminal diagnosis, how much time he/she has to live, that he/she is making an informed decision and is not being coerced. At least one evaluation must be in person. This creates barriers. It is difficult to get a doctor’s appointment, let alone two. If you are in so much pain that you are considering ending your life, waiting 6 months for a doctor’s appointment is not helping. A mental health evaluation is mandatory to confirm capacity to make an informed decision. How are these physicians and mental health examiners going to be paid? The person must make an oral request (so mute people are condemned to suffer) and a written request witnessed by two people not relatives who might benefit from the death. The oral request must be recorded. The physician who prescribes the fatal dosage must inform the person of palliative care and hospice options. There is a 5-day waiting period after the prescription is written before it can be filled. More time to suffer. The person must be able to self-ingest the fatal medication. They cannot be aided by even health care professionals. Those who can’t swallow or lack the ability to take oral medication have to endure suffering.
A person faced with such pain as they want to end their life and the hurdles, costs and possible delays MAID imposes, may bypass the law and its “protections” entirely and resort to more immediate traditional and less burdensome means to end their life.
Thirteen other states have similar laws. Oregon is the oldest law, enacted in 1997. In 2024, 607 people from Oregon obtained a prescription for a fatal drug and 376 died from its ingestion.
No righteous person wants to perpetuate suffering. I certainly don’t. But death is not the answer. The State should not be facilitating death except as a punishment under law. There is a short slippery slope between permitting suicide and governments justifying killing people. Millions were exterminated by governments. We need to be extremely wary about condoning suicide. Instead, we should be doing what we can to alleviate pain and suffering. Let us choose life.
Interesting points. But together in one essay, they’re like that Borsht Belt joke where Morris says “This food is awful,” and Sadie says, “Yes, and such small portions.”