January 16, 2024: Kicking off the 2024 campaign to enact the Medical Aid in Dying Act, supporters from around the state gathered today in Albany to participate in a press conference and lobby day. At the press conference, which was led by Corinne Carey of Compassion & Choices NY, the bill sponsors Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Amy Paulin said they were making passage of the Medical Aid in Dying Act in 2024 their top legislative priority.
Senator Hoylman-Sigal displayed the new report of a NY Bar Association task force that recommends that the Association support the bill. In addition, 11 other legislative cosponsors of the bill spoke strongly in its favor, as did a number of advocates from around the state.
Before and after the press conference, advocates broke into groups and visited more than 20 legislators’ offices to seek their support for the bill. In the morning, Senator Sean Ryan (Buffalo area) agreed to become a cosponsor. Later, a group of Albany-area advocates went to Senator Breslin’s office and spoke with his chief of staff. [Update: Senator Breslin became a sponsor of the bill one week later. Thank you Senator!]
Because the Governor unveiled the state budget in the Capitol the same morning, press coverage of our press conference was thin.