Following is a statement from Robert Bellafiore, a spokesman for the NYS Catholic Conference:

“The physician-assisted suicide lobby finally said the quiet part out loud — admitting they will immediately push for expansions of any law Governor Hochul might consider signing.

“In a new blog post, End of Life Choices Executive Director Mandi Zucker writes: ‘We will also continue to advocate for changes to the law once enacted that will make the option of medical aid in dying more accessible to everyone.’

“It’s clear they really don’t care what changes Governor Hochul wants – they have every intention of expanding this dangerous law by any means possible. Not only is this bad faith, but it’s utterly disrespectful and insulting to the Governor. She now knows, as we’ve always known, that the assisted suicide lobby cannot be trusted.

“The assisted suicide lobby has already sued in four states to overturn residency requirements. In California, their legislative champion is pushing to expand assisted suicide to dementia patients. In other states, they’ve worked to water down waiting periods.

“Governor Hochul clearly has doubts about sanctioning suicide for sick individuals. She knows doctors make mistakes all the time and that her administration considers suicide a serious mental health problem. And now she knows from the advocates’ own mouths that expansion is high on their to-do list. The only way to prevent the ongoing expansion of a suicide mentality is to veto this bill because once the assisted suicide door is opened, it only opens wider.”

The Catholic Conference represents the Bishops of New York State in public policy matters.