While a 2024 poll indicated New Yorkers’ overwhelming support for New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act for terminally ill people (M.A.I.D), the act had not been approved by the legislature each time it had been presented,...more
New York is poised to become the twelfth state in the country to authorize medical aid in dying with a physician’s prescription for lethal medication to be self-administered by the patient. On June 9, 2025, the New York...more
Now Is the Right Time to Consult with Legal Counsel About Preparing Advance Directives that Reflect End-of-Life Wishes- New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act (A136/S138) is once again before the New York State Legislature in...more
A recent post on this blog previewed the issues raised in the case of Govatos v. Murphy related to the residency requirement in the New Jersey Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act. ...more
Recent changes to the "Medical Assistance in Dying" (MAID) provisions in the Criminal Code, allow medical or nurse practitioners in Canada to provide MAID to patients who request assistance in dying, who later lose the...more
New Jersey recently enacted the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act (the Act), which took effect on August 1, 2019. Under the Act, New Jersey residents with an irreversibly fatal disease or those with a prognosis of death...more
Primum non nocere. "First do no harm" has been promised by medical students since the fifth century B.C. But times have changed....more
Representative Paul Baumbach yesterday re-introduced his “End of Life Options” legislation as House Bill 140. This marks the third iteration of the bill, which began as House Bill 150 “Death with Dignity” in 2015, which was...more
On April 12, 2019, New Jersey enacted the “Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act.” (P.L. 2019, Ch. 59). The bill authorizes an adult resident of New Jersey, who has capacity and whose attending physician has determined to...more
IN THIS ISSUE - Real facts about suicide too often are shrouded by destructive myths - The eternal question: What makes life worth living? - A key first step: Spotting someone at risk - Soothing survivors by just...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the formation of the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division of the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The new division will review complaints from...more
Everyone Has the Right to Refuse Life Saving Medical Treatment But New York Statutes Prohibiting Assisted Suicide Are Constitutional - Kirk Kekorian, a medical doctor, brought nationwide attention to the idea of assisting...more
In June 2016, California became the fifth state to enact an aid-in-dying law. California’s End of Life Option Act (the “Act”) authorizes an adult who is suffering from a terminal disease and meets other qualifications to...more
On October 5, 2015, the California legislature passed the “End of Life Option Act” (the “Act”), which permits physicians to prescribe an aid-in-dying medication to terminally-ill patients. The Act is set to take effect on...more
On Oct. 8, the House Republican caucus did not select a candidate for Speaker of the House and selection has been delayed. The current Speaker, John Boehner (R-OH), had announced that he would step down and retire from...more
Yesterday, Nico van Aelstyn, a principal in Beveridge & Diamond’s San Francisco office, filed a lawsuit in the San Francisco Superior Court on behalf of plaintiffs seeking to clarify the ability of mentally competent,...more
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada released its landmark end-of-life decision in Carter v Canada (Attorney General). The Court unanimously held that the prohibition on aiding or abetting a person to commit suicide in the...more
In a case being closely watched by baby boomers throughout the country caring for aging parents, a Pennsylvania nurse has been charged with helping her 93-year-old father commit suicide. Barbara Mancini allegedly handed her...more
In This Issue: - Top News ..Tavenner Wins Senate Confirmation to Head CMS ..US Charges 89 in Nationwide Medicare Fraud Crackdown - State News ..Vermont Becomes Fourth State to Allow Physician-Assisted...more