David Hoffman, a bioethics assistant professor at Columbia University, estimated Thursday that roughly 20 prescriptions for life-ending medication have been issued in the first month of New York’s Medical Assistance in Dying program.
Hoffman, who works with implementation groups including the Completed Life Initiative, based his figure on conversations with doctors, hospitals and organizations involved in the rollout. He noted that the state will compile official data on a rolling basis through after-the-fact analysis.
The Medical Aid in Dying Act took effect August 5, making New York the 14th state to legalize assisted suicide. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the measure in February following an 81-67 Assembly vote last April and a narrow 35-27 Senate passage in June. Patients must be 18 or older with a terminal diagnosis of six months or less to live, possess the capacity to self-administer medication, and obtain approval from two physicians plus a psychiatric evaluation verifying decision-making ability. They must also record an audio or video message orally requesting the medication and observe a five-day waiting period between prescription and dispensing.
The law mandates that the health commissioner issue an annual report to the Legislature with utilization data. Health officials have so far declined to release precise participation numbers. A department spokesperson said only that it “will provide a publicly available annual report containing relevant data regarding the utilization of Medical Aid in Dying, as outlined in the law’s reporting section.”
Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald defended the approach in a statement.
“Decisions about end-of-life care are deeply personal and best reached on an individual basis in consultation with a person’s doctor, family and loved ones,” he said. “The Department has worked diligently and thoughtfully to establish guidance and to propose regulations designed to provide dignity and comfort to those who choose to use Medical Aid in Dying, while providing the necessary protections to ensure the law is not misused or inappropriately applied.”
Hoffman pointed out a significant gap in current tracking: doctors notify the Health Department when medication is prescribed, but not whether the patient actually ingested the lethal dose. Some recipients, he noted, may never follow through.
That reporting lag has already drawn criticism from opponents pressing for immediate disclosure. Upstate Republican state Assemblyman Andrew Molitor, who voted against the bill, told The New York Sun that withholding data violates the public’s right to know.
“It is not good policy for New York to keep the public in the dark about how many people have requested and utilized assisted suicide,” he said.
Molitor demanded detailed breakdowns including patients’ socio-economic status, insurance type, terminal condition, prescription fill dates and administration locations. “The public should be told, at a minimum, what the person’s socio-economic status is, whether they have private health insurance or Medicaid, what was the terminal condition they were diagnosed with, when the prescription was filled and where it was administered,” he said.
Western New York Republican state Sen. George Borrello, another opponent, echoed the transparency complaint to The Sun.
“There is no reason New Yorkers should have to wait until the first annual report to receive basic information about how many prescriptions have been issued and how the law is being utilized,” he said.
Borrello warned of expansion risks, citing Canada’s trajectory since legalizing assisted suicide in 2016.
“When Canada first legalized this practice, it was limited to people who were approaching the end of life. In 2021, the law was expanded to include some people with serious illnesses and disabilities who are not dying,” he said. “Now, Canada has approved another expansion that would allow people to qualify based solely on mental illness, scheduled to take effect in 2027.”
Canada’s MAiD program accounted for roughly 1 in 20 deaths nationwide by 2024, when a record 16,499 people utilized the service.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the former state senator who authored the New York law, dismissed concerns about transparency delays. He told The Post he has “no doubt” the Health Department will comply with reporting requirements.
“I’m confident the state Health Department will follow the law and the regulations they drafted for transparency,” he said, praising the program as “ending suffering” and giving terminally ill patients “the option to leave this world with dignity on their own terms.”
“This is priceless for the patient and their family members,” he added.
New York’s program requires state residency, unlike Oregon’s law which imposes no such restriction.