On April 12, 2019, Governor Phil Murphy signed the Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act, P.L.2019, c.59 (to be codified as N.J. Stat. Ann. 26:16-1, et. seq.), (the “Act”) making New Jersey the eighth jurisdiction in the country (including the District of Columbia) to allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives in a humane and dignified manner. Effective Aug. 1, 2019, terminally ill adult residents of New Jersey may legally request and self-administer medication to end their lives.
Oregon was the first state to enact similar legislation effective in 1997. Nearly 10 years later, other states followed, beginning with Washington (2008), then Vermont (2013), California (2015), Colorado (2016), the District of Columbia (2016) and Hawaii (2018). Death with dignity laws gained national attention in 2014 when 29-year-old Brittany Maynard, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma, became a vocal activist for these laws. She relocated from California to Oregon to take advantage of Oregon’s Death with Dignity law to end her life on her terms. As of 2019, the Death with Dignity National Center reports that approximately 20 other states, including New York, are considering similar laws or ballot initiatives to permit death with dignity.
