Governor Chris Christie’s remarks on the issue of assisted suicide show an indication that he is not inclined to support the New Jersey legislation A2270, legalizing assisted suicide.
According to Tim Rosales from the New Jersey Alliance Against Doctor Prescribed Suicide, “We remain cautiously optimistic that the NJ State Senate, Gov. Christie and others will listen to the bipartisan and diverse chorus of voices weighing in against New Jersey’s assisted suicide bill. As always, once people begin to get more informed and educated about what assisted suicide is and weigh it against non-controversial options like hospice and palliative care, the more they see assisted suicide itself and Compassion & Choices mission as antiquated and unnecessary.” The New Jersey Alliance Against Doctor Prescribed Suicide in a diverse a group of opposition including patients rights and disability organizations, religious and policy groups and medical organizations including doctors and nurses.
Gov. Christie has at times expressed direct opposition to assisted suicide legislation. Given the complete lack of safeguards, A2270 puts the elderly and disabled at risk and jeopardizes the conscience of the entire medical community. If the New Jersey Senate passes this legislation it would present Gov. Christie with the perfect opportunity to use his veto power to avoid a reckless social experiment with publicly sanctioned suicide.