The fact that you have to put creative folk into uniform. Then he pointed out the interesting 'tension' between the rigid structure of a military and the free-spiritedness associated with musicians. But I wasn't quite sold on the story yet. When Ignatius Wang 王轲斌 first pitched this story to me, his passion was so infectious that I was convinced even I - failure at Grade 1 piano and player of zero instruments - could sign on as a military musician. And enjoyed myself! So much! Wonders never cease 🤣 He has served in the New York State Senate since 2013.In November, I spent eight hours over two days with the Singapore Armed Forces. State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan) chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. She has served in the New York State Assembly since 2001. Now.Īssemblymember Amy Paulin (D-Westchester) chairs the Assembly Health Committee. We have an opportunity to pass a law with strong public support that will demonstrate our compassion and love for our fellow New Yorkers who are dying. This is a human issue that gives people who will imminently die some measure of autonomy over how much pain and suffering they must endure before they die. This is not a political or partisan issue. In the most recent Siena College poll of New York State voters in November 2023, support was nearly twice as high as opposition, 58-30%.

They also know that medical aid in dying is strongly supported by a majority of New Yorkers – upstaters and downstaters, men and women, Democrats, Republicans and independent voters – in poll after poll. And our colleagues also know that states where medical aid in dying is authorized show significantly better use of hospice and palliative care than states where it is not yet authorized. Not one.īut our colleagues know all this because we’ve been educating them and they’ve been hearing from their constituents. And in the last quarter-century since Oregon implemented the first medical aid-in-dying law in the country in 1997, there has never been one credible case of one of these laws being misused. that are modeled after the safeguards in the 11 jurisdictions where medical aid in dying is currently authorized. We could also go into great detail about all the safeguards built into this legislation. And the loving goodbyes they generously shared with us never fail to bring a tear to our eyes. They’ve shared their stories – sad, bittersweet but also inspiring – about how their loved ones were able to have a sense of autonomy over their dying process and how that brought them peace. Notably, we’ve also met the children and other family members of people who availed themselves of medical aid-in-dying laws in other states.

But we have the opportunity to help so many other terminally ill New Yorkers. Some hoped we would pass the law in time to help them. We’ve talked to so many of these brave people. We could go into great detail about the dozens of terminally ill advocates for this bill who have died – often suffering in agony – while begging the state legislature to pass the bill. Passing this bill is all about providing compassion and love, while reducing unnecessary suffering.

Nobody wants to suffer and nobody wants to watch a loved one suffer. This compassionate end-of-life care option allows people who are dying – and will soon die regardless of the quality of their medical care – to eliminate needless pain and suffering in their final days. It is currently authorized in 10 states and Washington, D.C., including nearby states New Jersey, Vermont and Maine. Medical aid in dying allows terminally ill adults – capable of making their own health care decisions – with a prognosis of six months or less to live, to request a prescription that they can self-ingest to die peacefully in their sleep. The time is now after nine years of legislative debate on this compassionate legislation. One of our top priorities for 2024 is finally passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act to enable our terminally ill constituents to gently end unbearable suffering.

Inspirational quotes for terminally ill