© 2025 WXXI News
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Connections
Connections

Medical Aid in Dying Act, and questions about who creates policy

By Evan Dawson,
Megan Mack, Julie Williams
Published June 3, 2025 at 4:04 PM EDT
Four people sit in front of microphones in a television studio: a man at far left has short dark hair and is wearing a grey plaid blazer and white button-down shirt while sitting at a table covered in a blue cloth; a woman at near left has long brown hair and is wearing a black jacket, black shirt, beige pants and black sandals; a man at near right has short grey hair and is wearing a light blue polo shirt, black pants and black sneakers and is sitting in a wheelchair; a man at far right has short brown hair and is wearing a light blue polo shirt, jeans and white sneakers and is sitting in a wheelchair.
David Griffin
/
WXXI News
Heather Burroughs, Chris Hilderbrant and Brian Weber on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Tuesday, June 3, 2025
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
WXXI News

In this special edition of "Connections" with a live audience, we discuss the Medical Aid in Dying Act and other legislation that can affect the disability community.

How often are people with disabilities — and caregivers — brought into the discussion? What are the risks of legislating without that input, whether it's Medical Aid in Dying or other proposals?

Who should be helping guide policy? Our guests discuss it.

In studio:

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Megan Mack
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
See stories by Megan Mack
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson" and is also the office administrator for radio, news and technology and operations. She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams