Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature on legislation approving Medical Aid In Dying was, to put it nicely, not universally approved.

Many state lawmakers didn’t like the decision. More importantly, tens of millions of state residents didn’t like it either. And the chances are they won’t change their mind.

We won’t sit here behind our collective keyboard and try to sway anyone on either side of the issue. People have their own, perfectly logical, reasons for their views on medical aid in dying whether they’re for or against.

What we can say is that the legislation that will be signed by Hochul is better than the legislation that was passed by the state Legislature earlier this year. We do agree with many of the concerns raised by Republican lawmakers during floor debate over medical aid in dying, including the issues raised by state Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor. In our view the most egregious of those shortcomings are dealt with through a compromise Hochul reached with Democratic lawmakers before signing the legislation.

Among the negotiated changes are a mandatory waiting period of five days between when a prescription is written and filled; an oral request by the patient for medical aid in dying must be recorded by video or audio; a mandatory mental health evaluation of the patient seeking medical aid in dying by a psychologist or psychiatrist; a prohibition against anyone who may benefit financially from the death of a patient from being eligible to serve as a witness to the oral request or an interpreter for the patient; limiting the availability of medical aid in dying to New York residents; requiring that the initial evaluation of a patient by a physician be in person; allowing religiously-oriented home hospice providers to opt out of offering medical aid in dying; and extending the effective date of the bill to six months after signing to allow the Department of Health to put into place regulations required to implement the law while also ensuring that health care facilities can properly prepare and train staff for compliance.

Hochul’s changes won’t change the minds of those who oppose medical aid in dying for moral reasons. But in terms of lawmaking, Hochul deserves credit for listening to the concerns of Republican lawmakers who weren’t listened to on the floor of the Senate or Assembly and making sure their very valid concerns were addressed in the final version of the law.

Let’s face it. Hochul didn’t have to take that step. Democrats control enough of the levers of power that the bill could have been signed as is and those with concerns told to go pound salt. But on an issue like this, Hochul was right to try to address as many legal concerns as possible.