The New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide (NYAAAS) held two simultaneous candlelight vigils the evening of Thursday, December 4 “to peacefully and respectfully urge” Governor Kathy Hochul to veto the assisted suicide bill (S.138-Hoylman-Sigal/A.136-Paulin).
The vigil sites were outside the governor’s Midtown Manhattan – and in front of the Senator John H. Hughes Office Building in Syracuse. The hourlong vigils began at 5:30 p.m. Two similar, NYAAAS vigils were held the previous evening – in Tonawanda, NY, and in Albany outside the Governor’s Mansion. The NYAAAS includes the New York State Catholic Conference.
“If you share our opposition to this dangerous legislation, you are welcome to attend,” the alliance said in a statement released the prior week. “As many New Yorkers know, the assisted suicide bill passed both houses of the New York State Legislature earlier this year despite strong, principled bipartisan opposition. Now, the battle against assisted suicide has shifted to the governor’s office.”
Governor Hochul, who has mentioned possible safeguard amendments, has until December 31 to sign the bill. In all, more than 350 attended the four candlelight vigils.
The New York City site
At the Manhattan vigil site, on the East 55th Street entrance of 919 Third Avenue, Sophia Cook, 24, was among the nearly 100 participants; she is a parishioner of St. Agnes Church in Midtown Manhattan.
“It’s important that people stand up against suicide, and stand up for those who are terminally ill,” Cook told The Good Newsroom during the early moments of the gathering. “I heard about this vigil from one of my friends who is very involved with fighting against physician assisted suicide. I also heard about it from a church group.”
Also at that vigil was Carlo Concha, 52, who told The Good Newsroom, “I think it’s important to show the government that life should be protected from the very start to the very end…We are created in the image of God; we need to protect that life that God has allowed us to have.” Concha is a parishioner of Our Lady of Refuge Church in the Bronx.
“Advocates of doctor-assisted death have been doing their best to draw attention to their destructive bill and to pressure Gov. Hochul to sign it. It is important for the governor and her staff to see and hear from New Yorkers who oppose assisted suicide,” the NYAAAS statement noted. “There is still hope that Gov. Hochul will do the right thing and relegate the assisted suicide bill to the dustbin of history where it belongs.”
What the bill says
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act states that the purpose is: “To provide that a mentally competent, terminally ill adult with a prognosis of six months or less to live may request medication from their treating physician that they can decide to self-administer to hasten the patient’s death provided the requirements set forth in the act are met, and to provide certain protection and immunities to health care providers and other persons, including a physician who prescribes medication in compliance with the provisions of the article to the terminally ill patient to be self-administered by the patient.”
Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Auxiliary Bishop Peter Byrne of the Archdiocese of New York were among participants of the Manhattan vigil. Bishop Brennan answered questions from reporters, and Bishop Byrne helped lead a Rosary prayer along with several nuns from the Sisters of Life.
In response to a question from The Good Newsroom, Bishop Brennan said, “We are grateful that she’s (Hochul) taking this issue so seriously and giving it time and consideration – and so we really want to express our deep concern about this legislation. We want to stand up for the dignity of human life.”
As for possible safeguard amendments, he told reporters, “The taking of a life is the taking of a life…In a situation like this, there is no compromise. I think we have to respond with incredible compassion, first of all – to accompany and to help people in those moments of pain, to make those final moments of life meaningful; there are all kinds of palliative care treatments that are available.”
Bishop Byrne, in a brief interview with The Good Newsroom, said, “It’s a witness – it’s a peaceful witness. We’re petitioning the governor to do the right thing and veto this bill. It’s completely disrespectful of human life.”
Toward the end of the Manhattan vigil, Jessica Rodgers, a lead organizer, expressed her gratitude to all in attendance for braving the cold to take part in the gathering. And two prominent advocates of the cause spoke briefly about its importance – Jose Hernandez and Dr. Eve Slater, president of the New York Biomedical Roundtable and professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University.
Hernandez, 45, of the Bronx, who is wheelchair bound, spoke of being very grateful that his mother, Virginia, survived for 13 years despite being diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer.
About the NYAAAS
The New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide, based in Albany, is made up of a minimum of a dozen organizations working to prevent the passage of an assisted suicide law in New York. Formed in 2015, the NYAAAS includes disability rights organizations, health care and palliative care providers, faith-based organizations, and other allies.
The alliance engages in media outreach, demonstrations, and education to accomplish its collective purpose. Its website is intended “to be a clearinghouse of relevant information” for New Yorkers who share their opposition to assisted suicide, “as well as a tool empowering New Yorkers to speak out against assisted suicide.”
Organizations that make up the NYAAAS include: New York State Catholic Conference, Calvary Hospital, Bronx, New York, and Agudath Israel of America – New York Regional Office
For more information: New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide: Home