Albany Times Union: Commentary: Protect bodily autonomy by authorizing medical aid in dying

May 23, 2022 New York

An excerpt from The Albany Times Union commentary, “Protect bodily autonomy by authorizing medical aid in dying,” by Peru resident and former NYS Assemblymember Janet L. Duprey, published May 23, 2022:

...I am a lifelong Catholic Republican who has always believed in bodily autonomy. As an Assembly member from 2007-2016, I always stood up publicly for reproductive rights, including as an early sponsor of the Reproductive Health Act. Enacted in 2019, it added constitutional protections to the 1970 New York law from the Roe decision to ensure access to care throughout a woman’s pregnancy if her health or life is at risk, or a pregnancy is not viable.

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s draft opinion, New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins correctly concluded, “Right to privacy, right to your body autonomy, all of those things are things that, I believe, sadly, we will have to codify in order for New Yorkers to be okay. … So much of the quality of knowing that you have control over your life’s choices makes such a difference in terms of how you proceed in life.”