Faced with a terminal diagnosis, New Yorkers deserve the full range of medically appropriate options for care at the end of life.

 


Legislative Office Building Display Boards:  
Since 2022, Compassion & Choices New York has hosted a large-scale installation in the Legislative Office Building of the New York State Capitol Complex explaining why the legislature should expand end-of-life options and pass the Medical Aid in Dying Act. You can view each of the 8 foot by 4 foot boards as displayed in January 2024 by clicking the link below:

2024 Legislative Office Building Display Boards (PDF)

Quick Resources:  

Welcome!

Compassion & Choices New York’s core mission is to support, educate and empower healthcare consumers to demand the best possible end-of-life care that respects patients’ autonomy. Our legislative agenda includes, but is not limited to, advocating for the New York Medical Aid in Dying Act, which would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults to have the option of medical aid in dying to peacefully end intolerable suffering when no other option will provide relief.

Watch this space for resources and facts about medical aid in dying, and the latest updates in our campaign to bring this compassionate option to terminally ill New Yorkers.

With gratitude,

Corinne Carey
Senior Campaign Director

 

The Facts About Medical Aid in Dying

Medical aid in dying is optional.
Optional for patients and optional for doctors. No person is required to use it. No doctor is mandated to provide it. It is illegal to force someone to use it.

Medical aid in dying includes strict eligibility requirements.
A patient must be an adult, have six months or less to live, be able to make an informed health care decision and be able to take the medication themselves.

The New York Medical Aid in Dying Act includes more than a dozen safeguards.
Two doctors must confirm that the patient has six months or less to live — due to terminal illness, not because of age or disability. Two doctors and two independent witnesses must confirm that no coercion exists.

Medical aid in dying is a medical practice proven by decades of experience in authorized states.
In more than 20 years of experience since the first law was enacted in Oregon, and an additional 40+ years of combined evidence and cumulative data from the laws passed in other jurisdictions there is not a single substantiated case of abuse or coercion nor any civil or criminal charges filed related to the practice. Not one.

Medical aid in dying gives patients autonomy.
This law would put the dying person in charge. Only they can request the medication. They take it themselves — no one can administer the medication to them. And they can change their mind at any time. Medical aid in dying improves end-of-life care. Studies show palliative (“comfort”) care gets better for patients — and families — in states with medical aid in dying.

Medical aid in dying helps far more people than those who choose to use it.
Research shows just having medical aid in dying as an option relieves fear and anxiety — even for those who never choose the option.

New York Doctors support medical aid in dying.
A 2019 Medscape survey reported that when New York physicians learned about how medical aid in dying would be implemented in the bill before the state Legislature, their level of support jumped 18 points, from a 30-point margin (56%–26%) in support to a 48-point margin (67%–19%) in support.

Learn more about New York physicians’ support for medical aid in dying:

New Yorkers want medical aid in dying. By a more than a 2–1 margin (63%–29%) New York voters support, “allowing doctors to legally prescribe lethal drugs to help terminally ill patients end their own lives.” ( Quinnipiac, 2018)

Medical aid in dying is currently authorized in eleven jurisdictions. 
They include Oregon (1994), Washington (2008), Montana (2009), California (2015), Colorado (2016), the District of Columbia (2016), Hawai‘i (2018), Maine (2019), New Mexico (2021), and our neighbors in Vermont (2013) and New Jersey (2019).

See our Medical Aid in Dying State Utilization Reports here (Last updated Feb. 1, 2021).

A printable version of this list is available here.

Document: Organizational Memos of Support (as of April 25, 2022)

The Campaign to Pass the New York Medical Aid in Dying Act

Below you will find a list of campaign materials that will be updated throughout New York’s 2021/2022 legislative session, sorted with the most recently published items displayed first.

  • December 14, 2021 – The Buffalo News: Another Voice: Medical aid-in-dying bill needs a legislative push by Ari Klein, Dr. Milch’s grandson
  • Compassion & Choices NY Video: Real Stories. Real New Yorkers. Hospice Buffalo co-founder Dr. Robert Milch (1943–2021)
  • Empire Report — On His Deathbed, A Doctor Asks Legislature to Pass Medical Aid in Dying Act by Robert Milch, MD, FACS
  • Compassion & Choices NY TV spot ft. Monona Yin
  • Video: Life, Death, and Compassion: A Conversation about Medical Aid in Dying in New York co-hosted by Union Theological Seminary, Compassion & Choices and SAGE (Recorded April 29, 2021)
  • Compassion & Choices NY TV spot ft. storyteller Scott Barraco
  • Video: Compassion & Choices New York Virtual Rally: #StopTheSuffering (Recorded April 15, 2021)
  • Video: Compassion & Choices NY TV spot ft. Jennifer Milich and Dr. Jeff Gardere
  • Video: Education and Empowerment: Reducing End-of-Life Disparities – Presented by New York Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman and Compassion & Choices. Featuring Asmb. Hyndman, Dr. Jeff Gardere, Ottamissah “Missy” Moore, RN, and Corinne Carey. Recorded Thursday, January 21, 2021.
  • Video: New York Assemblymember Karines Reyes and terminally ill Buffalo resident Jennifer Milich
  • Empire Report — Corinne Carey: We’re All Looking for the Light at the End of the Tunnel
  • 2020 Webinar Series for NY Lawmakers — Part 2: Understanding Options and Resources: New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act, with Dan Diaz and Corinne Carey
  • 2020 Webinar Series for NY Lawmakers — Part 1: Advance Care Planning During COVID-19, with Dr. Jeff Gardere

 


Latest News

“America’s Psychologist,” Dr. Jeff Gardere, joins Compassion & Choices Board of Directors

Feb 29, 2024 Leadership

Board Certified Clinical Psychologist, Professor, and On-Air Media and News Contributor joins advocacy group to push for equity at the end of life


Compassion & Choices, the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving care and expanding options for the end of life, Thursday announced the appointment of Dr. Jeff Gardere, board-certified psychologist, interfaith minister, and author to its esteemed Board of Directors. Known affectionately as “Dr. Jeff” by millions of Americans, his numerous media appearances have earned him the title of “America’s Psychologist.” 

In addition to having a private practice in Manhattan, he is an Associate Professor and Course Director of Behavioral Medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City, and lives in Manhattan and Weston, CT. He has advocated for passing medical aid-in-dying legislation in Connecticut and New York and worked with the Compassion & Choices Community Engagement Team to advise African Americans about the full range of end-of-life care options, including hospice and palliative care.

Some viewers may recognize Dr. Jeff as the featured psychologist on recent seasons of “The Real Housewives,”  “Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta,”” Couples Court” and “Paternity Court.” He has also been a regular contributor to the FOX network, the Today Show, MSNBC, and CNN. He was the host of VH1’s “Dad Camp”, and appears in the upcoming documentary film “Let’s Talk: Mental Health in Color.”


Dr. Jeff is also the author of several books, including “Smart Parenting for African Americans: Helping Your Kids Thrive in a Difficult World,” and the co-author of “Practical Parenting” with Montel Williams, the Emmy-award winning TV talk show host (and Compassion & Choices supporter). 

"Joining the board of Compassion & Choices is a tremendous honor for me," said Dr. Jeff. “Death touches us all, and empowering yourself with the right information can make all the difference between a good death or a bad death for you or your loved ones. I am excited about partnering with Compassion & Choices to use my voice to help advocate for greater equity in end-of-life healthcare and reach new audiences with the incredible resources the organization has to offer. Together, we can ensure that every individual has access to compassionate end-of-life care that honors their values and preferences.”

Dr. Jeff Gardere and Compassion & Choices Pres./CEO Kim Callinan

Dr. Jeff Gardere and Compassion & Choices Pres./CEO Kim Callinan

Kim Callinan, president & CEO of Compassion & Choices, expressed her enthusiasm for Dr. Jeff's appointment, stating, "Dr. Jeff's deep expertise and his commitment to addressing inequities in healthcare make him an invaluable addition to our board. His perspective will be crucial as we work to improve end-of-life care and empower everyone to choose the care that is right for them."

"After years of partnering with Dr. Jeff in his role as an advisor to Compassion & Choices, I am thrilled to welcome ‘America’s Psychologist’ to our Board,” said Brandi Alexander, chief engagement officer of Compassion & Choices. “I know he will continue to elevate our work to cultivate a more inclusive end-of-life care options movement.”

Dr. Jeff holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from George Washington University and has received numerous awards for his mental health advocacy and education.

Weekly Why Archive

Each week that New York State lawmakers were in session in 2022, Compassion & Choices New York provides a deep dive into each of the issues surrounding New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act. You can find each of these weekly communications with lawmakers here: