ALBANY (AP) — New York is set to become the latest state to legalize medically assisted suicide for the terminally ill under a deal reached between the governor and state legislative leaders announced Wednesday.

In an op-ed in the Albany Times Union, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she will sign the proposal after she made an agreement with lawmakers to include a series of “guardrails” in the measure.

Hochul, a Catholic, said she came to the decision after hearing from New Yorkers in the “throes of pain and suffering,” as well as their children, while also considering opposition from “individuals of many faiths who believe that deliberately shortening one’s life violates the sanctity of life.”

“I was taught that God is merciful and compassionate, and so must we be,” she wrote. “This includes permitting a merciful option to those facing the unimaginable and searching for comfort in their final months in this life.”

A dozen other states and the District of Columbia have laws to allow medically assisted suicide, according to advocates, including a law in Illinois signed last week that goes into effect next year.

The governor’s op-ed garnered swift reaction from across the political spectrum and religious organizations, who called the legislation “troubling” and a “dangerous mistake.”

Ed Cox, chair of the New York Republican party, called Hochul’s support of the legislation a “profound moral failure” and voiced support of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Saratoga, who is vying to unseat Hochul in next year’s election.

A spokesperson for Stefanik referred to previous comments the North Country representative made earlier this year when the legislation cleared the state Assembly touting her pro-life beliefs and calling the legislation a “shameful attack on the sanctity of life and a betrayal of our most vulnerable citizens.”

“New Yorkers have a clear moral alternative in Elise Stefanik, a leader who believes every life has value and who will fight relentlessly for families, the disabled and the voiceless,” Cox said in a statement. “The contrast could not be clearer.”

New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act requires that a terminally ill person who is expected to die within six months make a written request for life-ending drugs. Two witnesses would have to sign the request to ensure that the patient is not being coerced. The request would then have to be approved by the person’s attending physician as well as a consulting physician.

The governor said the bill’s sponsors and legislative leaders have agreed to add provisions to require confirmation from a medical doctor that the person “truly had less than six months to live,” along with confirmation from a psychologist or psychiatrist that the patient is capable of making the decision and is not under duress.

Hochul also said the bill will........

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