Catholic advocate warns of safety risks as New York assisted suicide law looms

Ahead of New York’s assisted suicide law taking effect, Jamie Towey, president of Aging with Dignity, said the initial legislation “was easily the most dangerous bill ever written on assisted suicide.”

Aging with Dignity, a nonprofit organization, defends the rights of all people as they approach the end of life.

On Aug. 5, New York will become the 13th state in the country, along with the District of Columbia, to allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients. Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the legislation ( S.138/A.136) into law on Feb. 6, 2025.

“We shouldnʼt be offering the false solution of suicide. Suicide is not a real medical treatment. It is not a solution to suffering,” Towey said in an interview with Catherine Hadro of “EWTN News In Depth.”

When New York’s state Legislature passed its assisted suicide bill, “it didnʼt include any waiting periods out of the gate,” which are intended “to protect against rash decision-making,” he said.

There also “wasnʼt a residential requirement,” he said. So people “could come from any state in the country and get assisted suicide in New York without any waiting period.”

“Now,…