New Jersey Assisted Dying Bill Scheduled for a Vote

On Thursday, the New Jersey State Assembly is scheduled to vote on a bill that would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients.  The vote on the “Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act,” comes just two weeks after Oregon cancer patient Brittany Maynard ended her life. 

Maynard, who was terminally ill with brain cancer, made national headlines when she announced she would take a lethal dose of drugs legally prescribed by a doctor under Oregon’s “Death with Dignity” law, which the New Jersey law is modeled after. 

This is the second attempt to pass the bill.  Although it had been scheduled for a vote in June, it was pulled from consideration due to lack of support.  Yet, the bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman John Burzichelli, said he thinks the publicity surrounding Maynard has helped the bill gain much needed momentum. 

See Matt Friedman, N.J. Physician-Assisted Suicide Bill Scheduled for a Vote Thursday, NewJersey.com, Nov. 11, 2014.