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NY Gov. Hochul to sign bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide: ‘Who am I to deny you?’

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NY Gov. Hochul to sign bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide: ‘Who am I to deny you?’

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she plans to sign a measure to legalize medically assisted suicide for terminally ill patients under a deal reached with state legislative leaders.

The governor intends to sign the bill next year after working to add a series of “guardrails,” she wrote in an op-ed in the Albany Times Union announcing her plans. The measure, approved by state lawmakers during their regulation session earlier this year, will go into effect six months after it is signed.

Hochul, who is Catholic, said she listened to New Yorkers in the “throes of pain and suffering,” as well as their children, while also hearing out “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.”

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NEW JERSEY’S MEDICALLY-ASSISTED SUICIDE LAW ONLY COVERS STATE RESIDENTS, APPEALS COURT RULES

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she plans to sign a measure to legalize medically assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. (Julia Nikhinson, File/AP Photo)

New York will join a dozen other states and Washington, D.C., in adopting laws allowing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults, including Delaware and Illinois, which each approved legislation this year that will go into effect in 2026.

Several other countries, including Canada, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Australia and Colombia, have also legalized so-called death with dignity.

New York’s bill, dubbed the Medical Aid in Dying Act, requires a terminally ill person who is expected to die within six months to make a written request for life-ending drugs. Two witnesses must sign the request to ensure the patient is not being coerced, and the request would need to be approved by the patient’s attending physician and a consulting physician.

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The bill’s sponsors and legislative leaders have agreed to add provisions to mandate that a medical doctor affirms 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 without being under duress.

“The Medical Aid in Dying Act will afford terminally ill New Yorkers the right to spend their final days not under sterile hospital lights but with sunlight streaming through their bedroom window,” Hochul wrote.

“The right to spend their final days not hearing the droning hum of hospital machines but instead the laughter of their grandkids echoing in the next room. The right to tell their family they love them and be able to hear those precious words in return,” she added.

The measure will go into effect six months after it is signed. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)

Hochul said the bill will include a mandatory five-day waiting period in addition to a written and recorded oral request to “confirm free will is present.” Outpatient facilities linked to religious hospitals may choose not to offer medically-assisted suicide.

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The governor also said she wants the bill to only apply to New York residents. 

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that a similar law in New Jersey only covers state residents and that people from other jurisdictions cannot seek medical aid-in dying in the Garden State.

“Death brings good things to an end, but rarely neatly,” U.S. Circuit Court Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote in the opinion. “Many terminally ill patients face a grim reality: imminent, painful death. Some may want to avert that suffering by enlisting a doctor’s help to end their own lives. New Jersey lets its residents make that choice—but only its residents.”

Hochul said on Wednesday that supporting the New York bill was one of the toughest decisions she has made as governor.

DELAWARE’S ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL SIGNED INTO LAW, MAKING IT THE 11TH STATE WITH SUCH A STATUTE

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The governor said she wants the bill to only apply to New York residents. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

“Who am I to deny you or your loved one what they’re begging for at the end of their life?” she said. “I couldn’t do that any longer.”

The legislation was first introduced in 2016 but failed to receive approval for years as religious groups such as the New York State Catholic Conference sought to block the measure, arguing that it would devalue human life and undermine the physician’s role as a healer.

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Cardinal Timothy Dolan and New York’s bishops said in a statement after Hochul’s announcement that her support for the bill “signals our government’s abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens, telling people who are sick or disabled that suicide in their case is not only acceptable, but is encouraged by our elected leaders.”

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But supporters of the legislation contended that it would reduce suffering for terminally ill people and allow them to die on their own terms.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Northeast

DHS torches New Jersey’s profane ‘F—ICE Act’ as assaults on agents skyrocket 1,300%

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DHS torches New Jersey’s profane ‘F—ICE Act’ as assaults on agents skyrocket 1,300%

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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security slammed a new vulgar New Jersey bill aimed at punishing federal immigration enforcement in the Garden State, highlighting several victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants that officials say lawmakers are ignoring.

Earlier this week, Assemblymembers Ravinder Bhalla and Katie Brennan, both Hoboken Democrats, drafted the “F—ICE Act” — with the profane acronym spelled out — that would allow civil action to be taken against immigration enforcement agents.

The bill was reportedly drafted after a Democratic Socialist councilman from neighboring Jersey City was rebuked by a federal agent when he arrived at the scene of a raid on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, where an agent told him: “I don’t need a warrant, bro.”

“This is a disgusting bill just meant to demonize our officers who are experiencing a highly coordinated campaign of violence against our law enforcement,” Deputy Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

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New Jerseyans protest ICE. (Charly Triballeau/Getty Images)

“Our officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats.”

Bis warned that anyone who lays hands on officers or tries to obstruct their operations “is committing a felony and a federal crime.”

“What these New Jersey sanctuary lawmakers are trying to do is unlawful, and they know it. Federal officials acting in the course of their duties are immune from liability under state law,” she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the New Jersey Assembly Majority Office for comment from Bhalla and Brennan.

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Bis later added that New Jersey is the same state that “allowed a criminal illegal alien onto American streets who killed a mother and 11-year-old daughter while drunk driving.”

HOCHUL ENDORSES LEGISLATION TO ALLOW NEW YORKERS TO SUE ICE AGENTS: ‘POWER DOES NOT JUSTIFY ABUSE’

“What about recourse for the victims of illegal aliens?” she asked of the F—ICE Act sponsors.

Bis outlined several recent DHS arrests of illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes, including Felix Diaz of Cuba, who was arrested on a homicide charge.

Rodrigo Basantes of Ecuador was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child through sexual contact and sexual assault of a victim under age 13, while Mexican national Jose Villalva was previously convicted of child molestation.

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Later Friday, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill doubled down on the state’s tack toward ICE with a scathing letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem objecting to the purchase of a warehouse near Lake Hopatcong that would be used as a federal facility.

“The Roxbury immigration detention facility will not make New Jerseyans safer. Across the country, federal immigration officers have trampled on basic liberties and engaged in unconscionable acts of violence against law-abiding Americans,” Sherrill claimed.

“These acts of violence have left Americans severely injured and, in some cases, resulted in their deaths. ICE agents have repeatedly violated the constitutional rights of citizens and non-citizens alike. I have no reason to believe that DHS will treat the people of New Jersey any differently should it expand its presence in our state.”

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She claimed DHS has shown a “chilling disregard for both human life and the rule of law.”

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However, not every New Jerseyan has been on board with the new governor, as boos rained down on the former Morristown congresswoman when she was introduced at a New Jersey Devils hockey game this week.

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Boston, MA

Flights to and from Middle East keep getting canceled at Boston Logan

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Flights to and from Middle East keep getting canceled at Boston Logan


As tensions remain high in the Middle East, travel continues to be impacted across the globe.

Flights to and from the Middle East keep getting canceled at Boston Logan International Airport, and there were no signs of improvement Sunday as Americans are left scrambling to get to safety. The Trump administration has promised to help but getting out isn’t easy.

Several flights from Dubai to Boston were canceled Sunday, and aviation experts say about 3,000 seats per day go through Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Without them, people are trying to get home through Europe or Asia.

When not in use by the team during the NFL season, the Patriots team plane is operated by a charter company for various flights.

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Meanwhile, Iran’s busiest airport was hit by strikes with Israel later saying it was being used to transfer weapons to regime allies in the region.

The Iranian foreign minister spoke on Meet the Press Sunday about what it would take to agree to a ceasefire and ultimately end the war.

“Nobody wants to continue this war. This is not our war. This is not a war of our choice. This is imposed on us by the United States, by Israelis…” Abbas Araghchi said. “People have been killed. Places have been destroyed and now they want to ask for a ceasefire again? This doesn’t work like this.”

With no clear end to this conflict and airlines backed up as it is, experts say it will take a while to get people where they need to go, though the State Department says it has chartered many flights to bring Americans home, including chartering the Patriots plane.

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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh’s Home & Garden Show attracts vendors of all stripes – and even more customers

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Pittsburgh’s Home & Garden Show attracts vendors of all stripes – and even more customers






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