ALBANY — A highly controversial bill known by opponents as physician-assisted suicide and supporters as medical aid in dying is "likely" to be voted on in the Democratic-led State Senate in the next week, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Thursday.

The bill, officially called the "Medical Aid in Dying Act," would allow a "mentally competent, terminally ill adult," age 18 or older, who has a prognosis of six months or less to live, to request self-administered, life-ending medication from a physician. The measure also would provide certain protections and immunities for the prescribing health care providers, for example, for not resuscitating qualified patients who have self-administered the mediation.

The bill was approved by the Democratic-led Assembly in an 81 to 67 vote on April 29, but its future in the Senate has been uncertain, especially after the state budget process ran more than a month late, eating into potential end of session action. The legislative session is scheduled to end on June 12.

The "conversation has evolved considerably. I do believe there are the votes and it is likely it will come to the floor," Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said in response to questions from reporters. "The advocates have been really strong about their position and I think people have started to think about it and ultimately the majority of the conference felt comfortable with providing options for people during difficult end of life times."

Her comment marks a turning point for the bill, which has been around for several years and failed to advance, having been caught in the crosshairs between deeply personal and religious beliefs, experiences of loved ones with terminally ill patients on their deathbeds and concerns over potential abuse of the medication.

"This moment feels monumental. After a decade of advocacy and the historic passage of the bill in the Assembly, we are now closer than ever to finally giving terminally ill New Yorkers the compassionate, dignified end-of-life option they deserve," bill sponsor Assemb. Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale) said in an emailed statement. "This legislation is about love, autonomy, and easing needless suffering — and we must get it across the finish line."

Opponents, including some lawmakers, physician groups and the New York State Catholic Conference have cited numerous concerns with the bill. The opponents say the determination for a person’s "capacity" to make the decision isn’t well-defined, no psychological screening or counseling is required, the two required witnesses can be anyone except relatives and there’s no requirement that the patient be a state resident.

Additional concerns include abuses that could lead to the death of people with disabilities as well as fear that individuals who cannot afford large medical expenses may feel pressured to take life-ending medication.

"It is a poorly written bill, and it is not ready to come to the Senate," Sen. Pam Helming (R-Canandaigua) said at the Capitol Thursday.

 Lawmakers should be looking for ways to improve New York’s palliative care, strengthen hospice and ensure all residents, especially those in low-income communities, have access to great health care, Catholic Conference spokesman Bob Bellafiore told Newsday. "New York has a great opportunity to lead the nation in end-of-life care, but the way to do it is not by giving sick people a suicide cocktail," he said, adding that the bill "completely counters the state’s very thoughtful and very expensive efforts to prevent suicide."

Proponents, including patients and the loved ones of those who have died from terminal illnesses, say the measure would give terminally ill individuals a sense of control and autonomy even if they don’t plan on using the medication to end their lives.

"For every person who chooses to avail themselves of medical aid in dying, there are many more who are profoundly comforted in merely knowing it would be available to them," said Dr. Jeremy Boal, who stepped down from his role as chief clinical officer of the Mount Sinai Health System in 2023 after receiving a diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, a neurodegenerative disease. "That is certainly the case for me," he said in a statement provided to Newsday. "Knowing I can access medical aid in dying has freed me from fear of the future and allowed me to live what remains of my life as fully as possible."

Newsday's Yancey Roy contributed to this story.