Medical aid in dying was enacted in New Jersey on August 1, 2019.
On January 9, 2024, Assemblymember Herb Conaway introduced bill A1880, which waives or reduces the waiting period between requests for medical aid in dying if the person is not expected to survive that time frame. A companion bill (S3588) was introduced by Senator John Burzichelli on Sept. 19, 2024. The bills were referred to the Assembly Health Committee and Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, respectively.
Threats to the law: A bill that would repeal NJ’s Medical Aid in Dying Act (A407), and a bill making it a crime of the first degree to coerce a patient to request medical aid in dying or forge a patient’s request for medical aid in dying (A406) were both introduced in the 2024-2025 session. Both bills were referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
New Jersey Death with Dignity is a 501c3 organization that provides services, education, and end-of-life advocacy
By more than a 2-to-one margin (63% to 29%) of New Jersey residents feel that allowing doctors to legally prescribe lethal drugs to help terminally ill patients end their own lives should be an end-of-life option in the state. See more polling data.
Compassion & Choices was joined by advocates, supporters and family members of deceased, terminally Ill New Jerseyans, in presenting over 500 petitions in support of New Jersey’s Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act (A1504/S1072) to Governor Phil Murphy. The petition reads: “Congratulations, Governor Murphy! We look forward to the day when New Jersey…
The following op-ed appeared in the New Jersey Record on January 14, 2018: With November’s elections behind us, the New Jersey’s new governor, Phil Murphy, and the Legislature are in a unique position to take on a pressing issue crucial to the residents of New Jersey – improving end-of-life care and expanding options. Despite people’s…
(Trenton, NJ – Nov. 3, 2016) The New Jersey State Senate’s Health Committee today approved a bill for full Senate consideration that would give terminally ill, adult residents the end-of-life care option of medical aid in dying. The 5 to 3 vote with one abstention to approve the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Act…
The New Jersey State Assembly today approved the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Act (A2451), which would make medical aid in dying an option for terminally ill residents. The bipartisan 41-28 vote advances the bill to the state Senate. The bill would allow a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with fewer than six months…
We sent the following message to our New Jersey supporters this week: Friend, I’m writing with great news: yesterday, the New Jersey State Assembly Appropriations Committee passed the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act in a 8-2 vote! That means that we’re one step closer to making history by authorizing medical aid in…
We sent this message to our NJ supporters this week: Friend, I’ve got some great news! More than 250 supporters like you wrote to your senators to ask them to cosponsor the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act. Thanks to you, the legislature knows how strongly we support this crucial legislation. For this…
Compassion & Choices New Jersey supporters received this email last week: I’m writing with some great news: Sen. Nicholas Scutari of Union County has agreed to sponsor the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act in the State Senate. That means we now have a bill in both chambers of the state legislature, a…
Barbara Davis of Newark wanted to get involved with the New Jersey chapter of Compassion & Choices after witnessing her sister’s excruciating, drawn-out death from cancer. Helpless to ease her sister’s pain, which even hospice care couldn’t fully manage, Davis’ eyes were opened to the insufficient end-of-life options in her state. “If she could have,…
Lifelong New Jerseyan Reverend Gillian McAllister, a nondenominational minister since the ‘90s, “really wanted to get involved in something that helped” once she retired in 2011. Her training as a nurse, career as a bodily injury adjuster in the insurance industry and the difficult cancer deaths of several loved ones – including her husband in…
Mail contributions directly to:
Compassion & Choices Gift Processing Center
PO Box 485
Etna, NH 03750
