To the editor:

As a family physician working in Saranac Lake for 43 years and medical director for High Peaks Hospice in the latter part of my career, I’ve witnessed dying patients and their families suffer intolerably, despite the best efforts of excellent physicians and nurses. Those memories are long lasting. That’s why I support New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act (Assembly Bill 4321) that would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults to have the option to obtain prescription medication they could decide to take to peacefully end their suffering if it became unbearable.

My experience with dying patients is not unique. While Medicare hospice use has nearly doubled over the past decade, studies estimate that 65% to 85% of patients with advanced cancer experience significant pain that can be attributed to the disease itself or to treatment. Cancer is by far the most common diagnosis among terminally ill individuals who qualify for medical aid in dying in Oregon and other states that authorize this end-of-life-care option.

There are decades of combined experience of safely implementing medical aid in dying in nine states and D.C., representing more than 1 out of 5 Americans (22%). In fact, according to a Journal of Medical Ethics, “Rates of assisted dying in Oregon … showed no evidence of heightened risk for the elderly, women, the uninsured … people with low educational status, the poor, the physically disabled or chronically ill, minors, people with psychiatric illnesses including depression, or racial or ethnic minorities, compared with background populations.”

That’s why the New York Academy of Family Physicians’ position on medical aid in dying has evolved from opposition to neutrality to support, concluding, “Family Physicians are unique in that we are blessed to care for patients and their families throughout the lifespan, quite literally from cradle to grave. Supporting the authorization of medical aid in dying is commensurate with the Family Physician’s desire to empower our patients not only in their pursuit of wellness, their management of chronic disease, but also the alleviation of suffering when faced with a terminal illness.”

In addition, a 2018 Medscape survey of New York physicians found that 56% of doctors support medical aid in dying. Their support increased to 67% when physicians learned about the New Yok state bill’s provisions. Similarly, 63% of New Yorkers support medical aid in dying, according to a 2018 Quinnipiac poll in New York; majority support included virtually every demographic group measured in the survey, including party affiliation, race, religion, sex, region, education level and age group.

Hopefully, the Legislature will agree with the majority of New Yorkers who support medical aid in dying, and stop the suffering for too many who are dying and want this compassionate option that is now available to our neighbors in Maine, New Jersey and Vermont. Your ZIP code should not determine if you have to suffer at the end of life.

Jay Federman, MD

Saranac Lake