New York, .- The Parliament of the State of New Jersey (USA), Democratic majority, on Monday approved the bill that authorizes euthanasia for people with life expectancy of less than six months.
The governor of the state, Phil Murphy, said, after the vote, 41-33 in the Assembly and 21-16 in the Senate, which will become law, says the digital newspaper NJ.com.
“Allowing terminal and dying residents the dignity of deciding to end their lives in accordance with their consciences is the right thing to do,” he said of the bill, which will add New Jersey to the list of others that already allow doctors to prescribe prescriptions for patients who opt for this alternative.
Oregon, which was the first to approve it, has been followed by Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Washington, Washington DC and California and soon New Jersey, where the law will apply to residents with a diagnosis of terminal illness, defined as “incurable, irreversible and medically confirmed “and that will end his life in the next six months.
The project specifies that a disability is not a terminal illness.
In order to obtain the prescription for the medication, the patient must verbally ask the doctor twice in a period of fifteen days. A second doctor must confirm the diagnosis.
The bill also specifies that you must also submit a written request stating that you have been “duly informed” of alternatives, such as palliative care and pain control, and you will need two witnesses to confirm that you wrote the petition voluntarily.
If someone forces a person to order the medication, they will face between three and five years in jail, a fine of $ 15,000 or both.
Some states like New Jersey sought to legalize euthanasia after the case of Brittany Maynard, a young 29 year old Californian who suffered from an aggressive type of brain cancer and who moved to Oregon to end her life in 2014.
“I think you have the right to live your life with dignity but you also have the right to end your life with dignity,” said Democratic senator Nia Gil, who supported the proposal and remembered how she saw her brother suffer without being able to help him.
“And it’s not just about the pain, it’s about being hooked to machines, it’s not being able to breathe on your own,” he told NJ.com. (EFEUSA)
