From an email from Compassion and Choices:
We are entering the second phase of our work to get Governor Hochul to sign the Medical Aid in Dying Act. I know that many of you have sent emails, made phone calls, and sent letters to the Governor, but we must intensify our efforts as we head into Summer’s end and the beginning of Fall.
MASSIVE SIGN-ON LETTER EFFORT
Today we are starting a massive effort to get anyone and everyone who wants to expand end-of-life options for terminally ill people in New York to add their name to a sign-on letter to Governor Hochul.
We need to do everything we can to get as many people as possible to sign this letter. In addition to individuals, we are also looking for:
Local elected officials
Business leaders or business owners in your community
Third-party validators, organization heads, or civic leaders in your community
Any luminaries/big names that would catch the Governor’s eye
💙Will you help us grow the list of signers? 💙
You can see the sign on letter on our Alliance website here.
And you can share with your networks using this link: https://tinyurl.com/NYMAIDSignOn
I have created a sample email below my signature line that you can use for your own networks.
We would love to hear from you –whether it is questions, concerns, or most importantly, successes! If you’d like, we’ll give you a shout-out in upcoming Albany Update emails and on social media, complete with a “blue heart” badge of recognition. At the end of this campaign, there may even be small prizes for those who help us gather the most (or most impactful) signatures. Or maybe you’re just in it for the bragging rights and we respect that too!
💙: If you get ONE new-to-our-work person who signs
💙💙: If you get a business owner/leader in your community
💙💙💙: If you get a local elected official
💙💙💙💙: If you get ONE new person + a business owner/leader or a local elected official
💙💙💙💙💙: If you get all three OR a high-profile third-party validator
This is your time to go back out into the community and talk about all the hard work you did to help get this bill passed, and how you need others to join you in getting it over the finish line.
LET’S TALK ABOUT ALL OF THIS!
To hear more about these and other intensification efforts, consider joining me tomorrow (Friday, August 8) from 12:00 noon – 1 pm for “Coffee with Compassion & Choices” Click the link above to get the link to join. Or, if you had it from weeks past, I believe it’s the same one.
Our next Volunteer Strategy meeting will be August 13 at 7 pm. Click the link to get information about how to join the meeting so that we can talk about how we can support one another in reaching out to as many people as possible to grow the sign-on letter.
LET’S KEEP IT UP!
Please continue to share messages with Governor Hochul. If you’ve already written to the Governor —thank you, know that this is vital to our success. Because we’re stepping up our efforts, we have some new tips:
Please take a photo of your letter and share it with us. Whether it’s a handwritten card or a typed note, your words—and the image of your effort—can be the inspiring message that help us show the Governor the depth and diversity of support across New York. Send it to us at NY@compassionandchoices.org and let us know what you’re okay with us doing with the letter.
Is it okay for us to share the letter with the Governor’s staff?
Is it okay for us to share the letter publicly/on social media?
If you’ve already shared your letter with Corinne or Fran, please do so again to the NY@compassionandchoices.org email address.
We will be sharing packets of letters with the Governor’s staff periodically over the next few weeks so we can be sure that the folks who are advising the Governor are seeing these letters.
If you haven’t written yet, you want to write again, or if something has changed in your life, now is the perfect time to reach out. If you’re approaching the anniversary of losing a loved one, if your own health has changed, or if someone close to you is struggling with fewer end-of-life options than they deserve—take a moment to share that with the Governor. Go out and purchase a card, write a heartfelt message, and mail it to her. Consider including a picture of yourself or your family. ALSO (NEW): Be sure to ask for a response—she needs to know that New Yorkers are still waiting for her leadership. And we need to be able to hold her accountable in the coming weeks and months, and if you do not get a response, we need to know that. To that end, please let us know if you get a response.
And remember, one of the best ways to ensure your voice is heard is to check the Governor’s public schedule, don your yellow tshirt, and go somewhere she will be to ask her when she is going to sign this bill. And, as we’ve said, one place we know she will be is at the Great New York State Fair!
JOIN US AT THE NEW YORK STATE FAIR!
We are organizing a Compassion & Choices Visibility Event at the State Fair in Syracuse on Wednesday, August 20 (tentatively scheduled, as we wait for the event to confirm which day the Governor will be present). We’re at the beginning stages of planning this activity, so please bear with us, but if you’ve ever wanted to go to the State Fair, now’s your chance! We’ll offer free admission and assistance with transportation to those who need it. Please note that we will not have a formal vendor booth, we will instead be attending the Fair with the rest of the general public and asking our fellow fairgoers to take action. Please click here to register and we will send you more information as it gets closer! It’s going to be a good group of us, and a fun time.
CALLING ALL HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS!
If you are a healthcare professional who would like to practice under a newly-signed Medical Aid in Dying Law in New York, please simply reply to this email and let me know if you’d like me to loop you into our efforts to get clinicians ready for implementation.
ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
Bravo, David Leven for his letter in the Buffalo News: Many Medical Organizations Support Medical Aid in Dying (apologies: it’s behind a paywall).
Did you see this touching and incredibly interesting piece in the New York Times about a health policy official who accessed Colombia’s aid-in-dying law? A Cancer Patient Chose Assisted Death. That Wasn’t the Last Hard Choice.
And THANK YOU to those of you who responded to my plea about sending letters to the New York Times. I apologize if I was unable to respond to all of you. The past few weeks have been incredibly busy. I know none of you are getting published, but it makes a difference.
AND FINALLY….
If you’re looking for something different, please join Compassion & Choices for a webinar in our National Arts & Culture Series: Photos from the End with Oliver Farshi on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST.
We continue our work, every day, to ensure that New Yorkers have access to the full range of end-of-life options. Please consider making a donation to support this work by clicking here.
Thank you so much for all you do!
Corinne
DRAFT EMAIL TO YOUR NETWORKS THAT YOU CAN USE OR CUSTOMIZE
Greetings!
A bill that would expand end-of-life options for people who are terminally ill by authorizing the compassionate option of medical aid in dying passed the full legislature this Spring. In order for this option to become available to dying New Yorkers who need it, Governor Hochul must sign the Medical Aid in Dying Act (A136/S138) into law.
Will you join me in adding your name to this letter urging the Governor to sign the bill?
You can access the full letter and sign your name by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/NYMAIDSignOn.
Thank you for considering adding your voice to this critical effort.
Sincerely,
[your name]
PS: You can learn all about the bill by visiting this website: www.medicalaidindyingny.org
—
Corinne Carey
NY & NJ Campaign Director
518 898 8240 mobile
ccarey@compassionandchoices.org