New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act took effect yesterday, letting terminally ill adults with six months or less to live end their lives with a doctor’s help, joining states like Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and New Jersey. Safeguards include a five-day waiting period, a mandatory mental health evaluation, an in-person physician evaluation, and an opt-out for religious hospice providers, while opponents continue to raise concerns about coercion of vulnerable patients. The debate isn’t uniquely American either: France’s National Assembly approved similar legislation the same week, and the UK’s assisted dying bill returns to Parliament in September. Read more here.