Disability Rights Groups Sue to Block New York's Medical Aid in Dying Law

The End Assisted Suicide Coalition filed the civil rights complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, naming Governor Hochul, the state Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, and the state Board of Medicine as defendants. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Affordable Care Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the U.S. Constitution's equal protection and due process clauses. Plaintiffs contend the law creates a 'two-tiered medical system' in which disabled and terminally ill patients are steered toward lethal prescriptions while non-disabled patients receive standard suicide prevention services. Individual plaintiffs, including Rochester residents José Hernández and Anita Cameron, argued that diagnostic errors and inaccurate prognoses could put vulnerable people at risk, with Hernández noting his mother survived 13 years beyond a six-month terminal prognosis. Supporters of the law, including advocacy group Compassion and Choices, countered that the legislation is voluntary, includes multiple safeguards, and respects patient autonomy, citing polling showing 79% of Americans with disabilities support medical aid in dying. Hochul's office declined to address the lawsuit's specific claims but defended the law as the product of years of thoughtful planning. The coalition has previously filed similar lawsuits against assisted suicide laws in California, Colorado, and Delaware.