# @newsday on YouTube

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=zHnQBWnPfCA
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71151384-newsday-youtube
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/9086ef0905.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-23T18:00:38.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Newsday • Long Island News (@newsday) — https://gondola.cc/newsday

## Caption

Joseph Willen wiped a tear, steadied himself and took a deep breath as he explained why Kim Willen, his wife of 36 years, diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare and untreatable neurological illness that's stripped her of the ability to walk, speak and care for herself, could potentially choose to end her own life.

Kim Willen, now severely limited in her ability to speak, mostly uses hand gestures, such as a thumbs up or down, to indicate her intentions. She has decided, her husband explained, that when she's unable to communicate in any fashion and becomes permanently bedridden — "trapped in her own body" — she will consider using the MAID Act to end her life.

Conversations about the bill, signed into law in February, have mostly been dominated by legal, medical, and ethical arguments. But behind those debates are families staring down an impossible choice and its consequences.
.
.
#longisland #longislandny #suffolkcounty #northportharbor #medicalaidindying


Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3jLQjUN

Subscribe to Newsday.com: newsday.com/socialoffer

~ FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA ~
@newsday on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
@newsday.tv on TikTok.

## Stats

- **Views:** 2,137
- **Likes:** 11
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 2

## Credits

No public credits are recorded here. This does not identify who made the post.

## Tags

northportharbor, medicalaidindying, suffolkcounty, longislandny, longisland

---
Copyright (c) Gondola