Why Do People Want The Right To Die?

Is Medical Aid in Dying a fundamental right? Or a slippery slope toward state-supported suicide?

Kevin P. Alexander | 1.22.2026 11:00 AM

HD Download

Medical Aid in Dying was once a felony in the United States. Now it's legal in a dozen states and the District of Columbia. The latest battleground is New York, where advocates and opponents struggle over the passage of a law 10 years in the making. Is Medical Aid in Dying a fundamental right? Or a slippery slope toward state-supported suicide?

Stock Images and Video via Artlist and Envato Elements Music Credits: "Odd Numbers" by Curtis Cole via Artlist; "Diamonds" by Livingrooms via Artlist; "Fluency" by Piotr Hummel via Artlist; "Trapt" by Philip Daniel via Artlist; "Marakana" Alon Peretz via Artlist; "Pensive Synthesizer" by Kyle Preston via Artlist; "Subdivide" by Stanley Gurvich via Artlist; "Memento" by Nobou via Artlist; "Chronos" by idokay via Artlist, "Homeward" by Ran Raiten via Artlist

NEXT: Do we have an income inequality problem?

Health Care Medicine Doctors Patients New York City

Hide Comments (0)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

Please log in to post comments