The Legal, Constitutional, and Ethical Aspects of Medical Assistance in Dying in the State of New York

Abstract

This paper will examine the current constitutional debate in the State of New York regarding Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), a practice distinct from but related to palliative care in its focus on end-of-life autonomy and patient dignity. In June 2025, the New York State Legislature approved the Medical Aid in Dying Act, signifying the New York’s fisrt comprehensive legislative recognition of the right of terminally ill, mentally competent adults to request life-ending medication under defined medical safeguards. The bill, now awaiting the governor’s signature, places New York at the center of a national dialogue over whether the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection and substantive due process encompass the right to a medically assisted death. Building on the precedents of Vacco v. Quill (521 U.S. 793 (1997)) and Washington v. Glucksberg (521 U.S. 702 (1997)), this paper argues that New York’s failure to implement the Act after legislative passage would not merely represent a policy hesitation, but a potential constitutional breach that undermines evolving interpretations of personal liberty, bodily integrity, and state responsibility in modern constitutional law.