New York state’s proposed Medical Aid in Dying Act (MAID) is gaining momentum. The state assembly passed the bill last week, sending it to the state senate for a vote. If signed into law, the bill will make the state of New York one of 12 U.S. jurisdictions to have legalized assisted suicide. Among other things, it permits doctors to give mentally competent, terminally ill people projected to die within six months, including teenagers (18 and 19 year olds), a lethal overdose of drugs to self-administer.
Kind-hearted people do not want any human being to suffer, and many who support assisted suicide say they do so out of compassion and adherence to principles of autonomy. But at what cost? Modern medicine has stellar pain-management regimens to avoid pain for the sick and dying. And no person in the U.S has an unfettered right to do whatever they want, even to themselves, when it impacts others.
In the name of compassion and self governance, MAID threatens to violate human rights, increase overall suicide rates, including non-assisted suicide rates, and jeopardize suicide prevention efforts. All of these consequences disproportionately affect women, the disabled, and low-income populations. Feminists like me decry MAID. Every major national disability organization that has taken a stance on assisted suicide laws stands in opposition to them. The American Medical Association also opposes MAID.
Empirical evidence demonstrates that when assisted suicide is legalized, total suicide rates significantly increase, including non-assisted suicide rates in some cases. No study has found any reduction in non-assisted suicide rates where MAID is legal. Data outlined by the Centre for Economic Policy Research show that assisted suicide laws increase total suicide rates by 18 percent overall and by 40 percent for women, with non-assisted suicide rates rising by 6 percent overall and 13 percent for women.
Campaigners against the assisted suicide bill react after the bill to legalise euthanasia in the UK is passed, outside The Palace of Westminster in central London, on November 29, 2024. Campaigners against the assisted suicide bill react after the bill to legalise euthanasia in the UK is passed, outside The Palace of Westminster in central London, on November 29, 2024. BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP/Getty Images
Suicide is sadly all too common, both in New York and across the country. According to a recent statistical analysis on suicide in the United States, U.S. suicide rates reached
New York Must Not Legalize Assisted Suicide | Opinion
