When I first arrived in Albany after being elected to the New York State Assembly in 2017, I had a lot to learn, but as a member of the clergy, there was one belief on which I stood firm: The amount of time allotted to us on Earth was solely in God’s hands.
As a result, whenever I spotted medical aid-in-dying advocates in their signature yellow T- shirts in the Capitol hallways, I would make a beeline in the opposite direction. I was convinced that nothing they said could change my mind.
Then my dad got sick.
Over the next two and a half years, as my wife and I cared for him through terminal cancer, we spent countless hours together. In many ways, that time brought us even closer — but I also watched his quality of life steadily crumble under the weight of an unforgiving illness.
The first time he looked at me and said, “I can’t take this,” my heart sank. I knew deep down what he meant, but I struggled to accept it. I wasn’t ready to imagine my father choosing to leave this life on his own terms. As his suffering worsened, his pleas for relief grew more desperate. It broke my heart that despite all my love and care, I could do nothing to ease his pain.
Ultimately, he died at 84 in the same room where we had cared for him, and he was still in pain when he passed. Being in the trenches with someone you love as they struggle through their final days profoundly changes your perspective on what compassion truly means.
This past April, I proudly cast a “Yes” vote for the Medical Aid in Dying Act, a bill I had once vehemently opposed but ultimately co-sponsored. It passed the Assembly for the first time nearly a decade after the legislation was first introduced. A month later, the state Senate followed suit.
Now the decision of whether to provide this compassionate end-of-life option to terminally ill New Yorkers rests with Gov. Kathy Hochul. I urge her to sign it without delay.
Over the past decade, too many advocates — people who hoped to use medical aid in dying themselves or to help a loved one do so — have lost their battles with illness while waiting for this law. Those who are still with us have no time left to wait.
Let’s be clear about what this bill does and does not do. It doesn’t force anyone to do anything, nor does it take anything away from anyone. It simply offers a choice for eligible terminally ill individuals to end their suffering on their own terms, at a time of their choosing.
Opponents sometimes call the Medical Aid in Dying Act a “slippery slope.” The fact is that the bill is built with extensive safeguards to prevent any fraud or abuse. It’s modeled on more than 25 years of data since Oregon passed and implemented the nation’s first aid-in-dying law.
We know this approach works as intended. In the places where medical aid in dying is legal (currently 11 states and Washington, D.C.), many people who obtain the medication never actually take it. Simply having that prescription in hand gives them comfort. It lets them live their final days to the fullest, free from the fear of unbearable suffering and judgment. Strict requirements are in place: the patient must be terminally ill and mentally capable, undergo evaluations, and be able to ingest the medication themselves. No one else can administer it for them. These protections ensure the decision remains with the patient, and only the patient.
I am very clear on what medical aid in dying is: It is a choice that allows a dying person to exercise autonomy and dignity at the end of life. Equally important, I am clear on what it is not: iIt is not “assisted suicide” and it is not euthanasia. It is an act of mercy for someone in excruciating pain who has decided they have endured all they can.
Death is inevitable; it comes for all of us. The question is, are we prepared for it when it does? As a pastor, I have sat with countless individuals and their families as they grapple with devastating diagnoses that abruptly alter the course of their lives. I have seen the anguish, the prayers for more time or less pain, and the heartbreaking decisions that follow.
My own family’s experience underscored this truth in the most personal way. Caring for my father through his final chapter left an indelible mark on me. The memory of his agony and of my helplessness to alleviate it still haunts me. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. No one should have to watch a loved one in such pain without the option of a merciful end.
Governor Hochul, the power is now in your hands to give New Yorkers something we all seek: the chance for a good death, one that is peaceful, in a place of our choosing and surrounded by those we love. All we ask is the ability to make that choice for ourselves.
Please sign the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law today.
The Rev. Al Taylor has represented New York’s 71st state Assembly District, covering Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood, since 2017.