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May 10, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – New York legislators are currently working to pass two bills that would legalize euthanasia in the state.
More than 60 Democrats from both chambers in the New York state legislature are sponsoring Assembly Bill (A4321) and Senate Bill (S6471), which are attempts to legalize euthanasia for terminally ill patients over age 18. The bills have been submitted to the respective Health Committees in the Assembly and the Senate and are currently awaiting review for approval.
An illness is considered terminal, according to the bills, if the condition is irreversible and will likely result in death within six months. If the bills are passed, patients will be considered for access to lethal drugs after submitting two requests, one oral and one written.
If a patient meets the criteria proposed in the bills, he or she will be permitted to self-administer a lethal injection without the presence or support of a physician or any other health care professional.
In the United States, assisted suicide is legal in nine states. This year, 13 states have proposed bills allowing euthanasia. In April, Connecticut lawmakers presented a euthanasia bill that has not yet been passed.
In response to the proposed New York bills, LifeSite has launched a Voter Voice campaign to send emails to state senators and state assembly members, petitioning them to oppose the legislation. Voter Voice is an online platform offering a pre-written email form that can be modified, if desired, for citizens to petition lawmakers without having to take the time to compose messages.
According to the petition, New York has attempted to legalize euthanasia on multiple occasions. However, in each case, none of the bills were passed.
“It goes without saying that 'Death with Dignity' laws like A4321 and S6471 are normalizing a culture of death rather than life across the United States,” the petition states, “and we already find ourselves on a slippery slope in terms of some states’ full-out embrace of euthanasia as it is.”
Instead, “medical practitioners have a responsibility to help and care for the suffering, not assist in their demise,” the petition reads. “This must be reaffirmed legislatively.”
If either bill is passed, “rest assured that other states will follow down the same path (nine, as well as the District of Columbia, already have), and America will continue its downward spiral on the issue of life and how our government (and future generations) will measure its value.”