<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1gXNZJ_0vkYzw6r00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1gXNZJ_0vkYzw6r00" width="980" height="653" ><figcaption>Eric Scott</figcaption></figure><h2>💊 New Jersey doctors can prescribe medication to end your life</h2><h2>💊 The Aid in Dying law only applies to NJ residents</h2><h2>💊 Terminally ill patients sued over the residency requirement</h2><p>Terminally ill individuals may not travel to New Jersey to end their lives.</p><p>When New Jersey's Aid in Dying law took effect in 2019, it included a provision that doctors verify a patient's residency before prescribing them medications that will end their lives.</p><p>A federal judge has ruled the residency requirement does not violate the U.S. Constitution.</p><p>The ruling came after terminally ill cancer <a href="https://nj1015.com/lawsuit-says-njs-aid-in-dying-law-unfairly-blocks-non-residents/">patients from Delaware and Pennsylvania sued.</a> They wanted to travel to New Jersey to end their lives.</p><p>The suit was brought on behalf of the women by the group Compassion &amp; Choices, which advocates for expansion of access to end-of-life procedures.</p><p>Andrea Sealy (left) and Judy Govatos are plaintiffs in a lawsuit targeting New Jersey's aid-in-dying law. (Compassion &amp; Choices)</p><p>Andrea Sealy (left) and Judy Govatos are plaintiffs in a lawsuit targeting New Jersey's aid-in-dying law. (Compassion &amp; Choices)</p><p>Attorneys for the group expressed disappointment over the ruling but called it "a temporary roadblock." They did not say if they planned an appeal.</p><h2>Dying is the new form of medical tourism</h2><p>For years, people have been traveling for medical procedures in a process dubbed "medical tourism." Popular destinations are in the U.S., but also many other countries.</p><p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/23/health/assisted-death-medical-tourism-kff-health-news/index.html">According to a report from CNN</a>, cosmetic surgery, dental care, fertility, organ and tissue transplantation, and cancer treatments are the most common procedures sought out.</p><p>However, as more states have added laws allowing the terminally ill to end their own lives on their own terms, people have been traveling to receive this type of end-of-life care.</p><p>Opponents of the 'Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act" testify before the Assembly Judiciary Committee. (Michael Symons/Townsquare Media NJ)</p><p>Opponents of the 'Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act" testify before the Assembly Judiciary Committee. (Michael Symons/Townsquare Media NJ)</p><p>New Jersey is among 10 states and the District of Columbia that have aid in dying laws. Most have residency requirements.</p><p>New York and California also provide end of life care for residents. Efforts to end residency requirements have failed.</p><p>Conversely, Vermont and Oregon have lifted residency requirements. Each state reports dozens of non-residents have traveled to Vermont and Oregon to end their lives.</p><p>Each state expects that number to continue to grow.</p><h2>Residency requirements are controversial</h2><p>While some states have put restrictions on access to abortion, individuals can travel anywhere within the United States for any other type of medical care.</p><p>Many physicians support ending the residency requirement for end-of-life care.</p><p>“New Jersey’s medical aid-in-dying law has eased the suffering of numerous terminally ill New Jerseyans over the last four years,” said Dr. Paul Bryman, the medical director at a hospice in Camden County and a plaintiff in the suit. “The residency mandate prevents me from providing nonresident patients who request this gentle dying option with care consistent with their values and wishes at one of the most important moments in their lives.”</p><p>For the terminally ill, the issue is about ending their life on their own terms.</p><p>A federal judge says New Jersey has the right to restrict end of life care to state residents, only. Canva</p><p>A federal judge says New Jersey has the right to restrict end of life care to state residents, only.</p><p>Canva</p><p>Pennsylvania resident Andrea Sealy has been battling metastatic breast cancer for more than six years.</p><p>Sealy lives 10 minutes from New Jersey and was hoping to take advantage of the state's Aid in Dying law.</p><p>"I don't want to needlessly suffer," Sealy said. "It's just not something that I want for myself or my family."</p><h2>Take advantage of this Jersey favorite before it’s gone</h2><h2>The most obese counties in New Jersey</h2><p>New Jersey Department of Health age-adjusted data for 2011 and 2022 reveals the percentage of the adult population over 20 that is obese. The data is from the <a href="https://www.nj.gov/health/chs/njbrfs/">NJ Behavioral Risk Factor Survey</a>. The counties are listed from lowest to greatest percentage. Because of a small sample size in the survey in 2022, percentages were not available for the first two counties.</p><p>Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom</p></div></body>

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You cannot come to New Jersey to die, judge says

💊 New Jersey doctors can prescribe medication to end your life. 💊 The Aid in Dying law only applies to NJ residents. 💊 Terminally ill patients sued over the residency requirement. Terminally ill individuals may not travel to New Jersey to end their lives. When New Jersey's...