New Jersey’s law allowing terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to end their lives with medical assistance takes effect on Thursday, CNN reports.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act in April, and now New Jersey joins seven other states and the District of Columbia in allowing physician-assisted suicide.
According to the law, a patient must have six months or less left to live and their mental capacity must be determined by a psychiatrist or psychologist before the patient can receive a prescription for a life-ending medication.
"Allowing residents with terminal illnesses to make end-of-life choices for themselves is the right thing to do," Murphy said in a statement.
The bill only just passed the New Jersey Senate, and its opponents haven’t gone silent on their concerns that the effects of the bill could be worse than intended.
"The bill has lasting ramifications and lots of loopholes," said Republican state Sen. Robert Singer. "We are so concerned about opioids, and not trusting doctors with opioids. But now we are willing to trust them with this."
The Catholic Church has made a moral objection, with Bishop James Checchio of Metuchen issuing a statement saying that “assisted suicide is a grievous affront to the dignity of human life and can never be morally justified.”
“Passage of this law points to the utter failure of government, and indeed all society, to care truly, authentically, and humanely for the suffering and vulnerable in our midst,” he added.
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