Medical Aid in Dying: A Winning Issue for Governor Hochul
Governors Across the Country Support End-of-Life Autonomy
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act builds on the lessons learned in the 11 states, as well as Washington, DC, where this option is currently legal.
Fourteen Governors, and the Mayor of Washington, D.C., have signed medical aid in dying legislation into law. What’s more, the active support of Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts and Washington Governor Booth Gardner helped win public support for medical aid in dying by ballot initiative in their states.
No Democratic Governor who has championed or signed a medical aid in dying bill has ever paid a price at the polls. Delaware Governor Matt Meyer even made medical aid and dying a key focus of his successful gubernatorial campaign and signed the bill passed by the State Legislature in 2025.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was reelected in 2022 after signing legislation in 2021.
Maine Governor Janet Mills was reelected in 2022 after signing legislation in 2019.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy was reelected in 2021 after signing legislation in 2019.
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin was reelected in 2014 after signing legislation in 2013.
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber was reelected in 1998 after the state’s landmark Death with Dignity Act
took effect in 1997.
Three Democratic Governors who are Catholic have signed medical aid in dying legislation, expressing support for bodily autonomy and respect for individuals’ religious or spiritual journey at the end of life.
“In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death. I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldn’t deny that right to others.” – Governor Jerry Brown of California (Read his signing statement)
“New Mexicans deserve every single dignity we as a state and as a community can provide them. Dignity in dying – making the clear-eyed choice to prevent suffering at the end of a terminal illness – is a self-evidently humane policy.” – Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico (Read her signing statement)
“Allowing residents with terminal illnesses to make end-of-life choices for themselves is the right thing to do. By signing this bill today, we are providing terminally ill patients and their families with the humanity, dignity, and respect that they so richly deserve at the most difficult times any of us will face.” – Governor Phil Murphy (Read his signing statement)
Governors — from both parties — have expressed support and willingness to sign medical aid in dying legislation.
Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut said he supports aid-in-dying legislation.
In 2024, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said: “It’s really a very personal issue. It doesn’t have a political divide on it.”
In 2024, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer indicated in a candidate questionnaire that she supported legalizing “physician-assisted suicide” (the pejorative term for medical aid in dying).
When Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed a law removing residency requirements to access medical aid in dying in 2023, Vermont Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman said the change will help normalize this type of end-of-life health care: "We are trying to make Vermont health care accessible to as many people as possible. I appreciate the governor signing the bill."
In 2022, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said: “… the time that I have spent with families, the things that I’ve seen in my own family, when you are watching someone suffer, when you are watching someone go through a pain that is not just unimaginable, it’s not just painful for them, it is painful for everybody who has to witness it and be in the presence … we as a state have to make sure that we are protecting that ability for people to be able to make those clear mind, clear-hearted, independent decisions about the suffering that they are enduring and the suffering that their family members who are also watching them to go through, as well.”
In 2018, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said in a candidate questionnaire: “I am in favor of putting this very personal decision in the hands of patients to make in consultation with their doctors.”
This issue often feels abstract until it isn't. Some Governors have seen this issue play out in their own lives.
In 2017, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin disclosed in his farewell speech that his father used the state’s medical aid in dying legislation. He said: “Terminally ill patients can now make their end-of-life choices as they should be able to. In my wildest dreams when I signed that bill, I never thought that my own dad, who was suffering from a miserable terminal cancer, would be able to die with dignity in his own state, so thank you.”
The Diary of a CEO Podcast: California Governor Gavin Newsom was at his mother’s side when she made use of medical aid in dying. He said of the experience: “I'm just sitting there and holding her hand [for] her last breath… and not realizing that moment, what it represented, what it ultimately meant… [I’m] proud we changed the law in California.”
With nearly 30 years of cumulative experience across these jurisdictions—starting with Oregon and strengthened by more recent laws—medical aid in dying has proven not only to protect patients, but also to improve care across the end-of-life spectrum.
Governor Hochul, please listen to your peers and to voters.
Sign the Medical Aid in Dying Act in law—for all New Yorkers.
