Public eduction is an implementation priority

Mandi Zucker

May 27, 2026

Live How You Like, Leave How You Like

Dear Friends,

Our campaign to $80,526 by 8/05/26 continues! We have currently raised $54,914 so we are just about 2/3 of the way there! Thank you to everyone who has donated. It’s been fun to receive checks in amounts related to $80,526 – although all donations are obviously appreciated!!! It’s just nice to know people are having fun supporting this work!

Today, I wanted to highlight another reason why these funds are so critically important: public education. We get calls weekly asking for education – to seniors, disease-specific groups, libraries, professional organizations, colleges and university students, and others. We customize each presentation to the audience and then provide printed materials and in-person presentations when we can. The hard costs of printing and travel are obvious. But the time it takes for us to put together each presentation is difficult to measure. I can tell you it takes hours. We ask organizations if they have a budget to provide some funding for presentations like this, but many do not. And we never want that to be a reason why they don’t get the education needed to bring more awareness to end of life options. So far, we have never had to turn away an organization because of their inability to pay. Just this week we spoke to agencies in Valhalla and in Rochester that do not have the ability to pay but would like in person presentations. we can make that work because of support like yours.

We know that most people in New York don’t know what medical aid in dying is. I know that seems hard to believe because, obviously, you know! But unless you have a specific interest in this topic, or know someone who does, it’s not talked about casually in conversations like other social issues so people just don’t know about it. And if they don’t know about it, they definitely cannot access it.

Our goal is to present to as many organizations across the state as possible. We want to train volunteers to do these presentations to help spread our reach as well. Putting together trainings is also costly, and we certainly do not want to charge volunteers for donating their time to this cause.

I’ve said before that this campaign is about access. And your financial support creates access. Please provide any amount you can to keep this public education free to anyone that needs it. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Mandi Zucker
Executive Director

Recent Events & Updates

Supporting Patients with Dementia at the End of Life

Since the signing of the Medical Aid in Dying Law in 2025, we have seen an incredible increase in calls to our support line from people asking about end of life options. Unfortunately, many people asking about medical aid in dying are those with a new diagnosis of dementia. There is a lot of misinformation about this and a lot of people assume they will qualify for medical aid in in dying because of a dementia diagnosis. They will not.

We are always glad they call, though, because there are certainly other options for end of life care for those people living with dementia. Please read this article by Executive Director Emeritus of End of Life Washington about options to shorten death for people with dementia. And you can find the Advanced Directive for Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking on our website here.

Upcoming Events

We have several upcoming events that we encourage you to join. Find one, or several, options that you connect to and join us!

Legacy League. May 28th at 475 west 57th Street, NYC at 10:00 AM. Join us for a no-agenda hang out to talk about death and dying- or what we call “Legacy League”. Bring your questions, worries and fears, and curiosities as we get together to demystify and de-taboo death. And don’t worry, if it gets quiet we’ll play a fun game! This Legacy League is in-person in Manhattan. You must get a ticket to attend this event so please secure your ticket here.
Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York. May 30th from 11 AM to 12:30 PM. David Leven will be speaking on a panel about Medical Aid in Dying. The public is welcome to attend. Woodcliff Resort and Spa, 199 Woodcliff Dr., Fairport, NY.
Legacy League. June 4 at 10 AM on zoom. Register here.
Meet-n-Greet. June 6 at 3 PM on zoom. Join us for one a one-hour introduction to End of Life Choices New York. Learn about what we are working on and introduce yourself to us as we work together to make end of life better for New Yorkers. Register here.
Healthcetra Radio Show. June 17th at 2:30 PM. David Leven will be speaking on the Diane Mason, RN, PhD radio show, discussing implementation of medical aid in dying. You can listen live on WIOX radio.
Coast to Coast: Medical Aid in Dying from Enactment to Implementation. June 23, 7 PM EDT, 4 PM PDT. Join End of Life Choices New York and End of Life Choices California to celebrate 10 years of the California law and the forthcoming implementation in New York. we will discuss the enactment of the law in both states, modifications in California after the law was passed, the similarities and differences between the states and share personal stories from family members and patients. Register for this free event here.
Presentation for Pelham Seniors. June 29th at 1 PM. Duronco Town House, 20 Fifth Avenue, Pelham, NY.

Update on Medical Aid in Dying Implementation

We recently met with the Department of Health. We had a very productive meeting and are thrilled that they are aware of the work we are doing and have accepted our offer of support to roll out this law as smoothly as possible. We have another meeting scheduled soon and hope to continue to build this relationship.

We have also secured the support of an additional pharmacist who is interested in providing the medications for medical aid in dying. We have connected him with The Academy of Aid in Dying Medicine to receive excellent clinical training and support and they have already introduced him to other pharmacists in states that have implemented medical aid in dying. This is an important connection for our new clinicians in NY who have many questions and need the guidance of more experienced professionals.

Many of you have requested a copy of the updated law with Governor Hochul’s amendments. We are incredibly thankful to David Hoffman, JD and Robert N. Swindler, MA, JD, for putting together two documents that do just that. The first one, linked here, is the original bill language that integrates that governor’s enhanced amendments. The second one, linked here, is redlined to show the changes from the original language.

We continue to speak to patients who are interested in considering medical aid in dying and have already begun connecting them to physicians to pre-plan as much as they can which receiving quality care. We have also been able to connect patients with family members of people who used medical aid in dying in other states, so they can begin to learn what the process was generally like (although it will be slightly different in each state) and ask questions that only family and friends who be able to answer. We are honored to be able to coordinate this part of the process. If you are in need, please reach out to us! If you are a clinician of any sort (doctor, nurse, social worker, chaplain, volunteer, doula, or hospital/hospice system), please complete this survey. The answers to this survey will not be made public but will allow us to reach out to you to offer you the opportunity to connect with patients based on their needs. This survey has informed us already that we have strong interest from all sorts of clinicians in providing this care, including pharmacists, doctors, psychologists and end of life doulas.

Please continue to share the flyer highlighting our partnership with the Academy of Aid-in-Dying Medicine with anyone you think could benefit from resources and education. Together with The Academy, we are your go-to source for all things related to the implementation of excellent aid-in-dying care. Please reach out to us with questions, concerns and needs.

If you learn of trainings in your community, please forward them to us so we can reach out and let them know about the support we can provide. We are thrilled that we have been seeing trainings popping up and we want to support any organization to provide the best quality care possible.

We continue to receive many requests by major media outlets to interview people who are considering this option when it becomes available. This is an important way we can use the media to bring more awareness about this option. If you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and will likely be eligible to use medical aid in dying in the next 6-12 months, and you’d be willing to talk to the media either in print or on TV, please let me know. I can put you in touch with very sensitive reporters and producers who want to help share your story in a compassionate and dignified manner.

Ask Us Anything

Q: I have a guardian. Can I still make decisions about my own healthcare?

A: This is a complicated question and one for which you should seek legal guidance Answers would depend on the court order that structured the guardianship and whether or not the person is legally competent. If the person is not competent, the guardian may be able to restrict medical treatment, or agree to medical treatment that the patient may not want.

If you have a question you’d like answered, send it here!

Stay Connected

Get latest news and updates from End of Life Choices New York in your inbox.

By subscribing to our newsletter, you agree to the information highlighted in our Privacy Policy.