This page contains links to various writings of the Director, mostly related to medical aid in dying (MAiD). Comments can be sent to tmirer@deathwithdignityalbany.org

The New York MAiD Bill

★ A Proposal to Improve the Medical Aid in Dying Act: Let’s Restore the Original Definition of Self Determination, September 15, 2024, available as a pdf file HERE.

This paper updates and expands a private memo from September 2023, which made the same proposal. The introductory/summary paragraph presents the basic idea:

A compassionate and reasonable proposal!

MAiD in General

○ Pain and Suffering as Reasons for Requesting MAiD in Oregon, October 16, 2024, available as a pdf file HERE.

Why do people request medical aid in dying? The annual reports from the Oregon Health Authority give a one-sentence summary of the data it collects each year, such as this one for 2023: “As in previous years, the three most frequently reported end-of-life concerns were loss of autonomy (92%), decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable (88%), and loss of dignity (64%).” One might wonder, “What about pain and suffering?”

The Oregon reports’ summaries are frequently cited, perhaps because they seem to be authoritative and to be based on the best available data. However, the data and reports may not mean what advocates and analysts presume they do. This paper explains how the Oregon data are collected, summarized, and reported. The paper is written for anyone who uses the reports or wants to know what they mean, and (of necessity) the paper is full of arcane details.