In July 2015, we advocated passage of the “NJ Death with Dignity Act.” In September 2018, we advocated passage of a second iteration of the 2015 bill, although we noted two deficiencies. It provided no relief to those whose physical condition makes it impossible to “self-administer” a lethal drug. It also failed to provide relief to those afflicted with a condition that is unbearable and unrecoverable but about whom the medical profession could not predict death within six months. Our objections were unaddressed in the statute that ultimately passed.

At present, physician-assisted suicide is legal in nine states and the District of Columbia. New York has such a bill pending since 2015. No state allows euthanasia in an advanced health care directive. A competent person may prospectively refuse medical treatment in an advanced health care directive, but one cannot, at present, legally authorize one’s death by enlisting the aid of another.