New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday signed an amended version of the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law, which will legalize medically assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live.

The legislation was sent to Hochul on Dec. 31, meaning Friday was the deadline for her signature.

The law would allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to request life-ending medication. The act is the result of a more than 10-year battle by advocates. It will take effect in six months.

Hochul, a practicing Catholic, had previously said that she had "to be very careful" not to allow her "own circumstances and life influences ... to color my decision making when I’m making a decision not for myself but for 20 million New Yorkers." She said in December she would sign the legislation with amendments.

According to Compassion & Choices, a group which has advocated for the Medical Aid in Dying bill, the amendments include:

• A mandatory waiting period of five days
• An oral request by the patient for medical aid in dying must be recorded by video or audio and permanently stored in the patient’s medical record
• A mandatory mental health evaluation of the patient seeking medical aid in dying by a psychologist, neurologist, or psychiatrist
• Strengthening a prohibition against anyone who may benefit financially from the death of a patient from being eligible to serve as a witness to the oral request or an interpreter for the patient
• Limiting the availability of medical aid in dying to New York residents
• Requiring that the initial evaluation of a patient by a physician be in person, unless attending physician believes an in-person visit would result in extraordinary hardship
• Allowing religiously-oriented home hospice providers to opt out of offering medical aid in dying, while ensuring a patient receiving hospice care within their own home is not restricted from accessing Medical Aid in Dying
• Ensuring that a violation of the law is defined as professional misconduct under the Education Law
• Extending the effective date of the bill to six months after signing to allow the Department of Health to put into place regulations required to implement the law while also ensuring that health care facilities can properly prepare and train staff for compliance

For years, advocates for the Medical Aid in Dying Act, including those facing terminal diagnoses, have shared stories to help push the bill over the finish line in the Legislature. The measure has faced strong opposition from groups, especially people with disabilities who argue the law does not do enough to protect them from being pressured into the procedure. A YouGov poll in 2024 found over 70% of New Yorkers support legalizing medically assisted suicide, while others have the number slightly lower, but still a majority.

New York will be the 13th state to legalize medically assisted suicide.