More than 400 New Jersey residents have chosen to end their lives with the aid of medications provided by physicians since the state enacted its Medical Aid in Dying law in 2019.
Statistics gathered by the Office of Chief State Medical Examiner indicate that the number of patients choosing medical aid in dying has grown each year up until 2024, the last year for which final figures are available.
Between August 1 and December 31, 2019, a total of 12 patients chose medical aid in dying. In 2020, the first full calendar year the procedure was available, 33 medical aid in dying cases were reported. By 2024, that number had grown to 122, according to the OCSME.
The medical examiner’s report for 2024 states that while heart diseases is the leading cause of death among the general population in New Jersey, “malignancy is the leading underlying illness accounting for 69 percent of [medical aid in dying] cases.” Another 19 percent of cases involved those suffering from a neuro-degenerative disease, while only 10 percent were diagnosed with a cardiovascular or pulmonary disease.
More women than men (56 percent to 44 percent) chose to end their lives with medical aid in 2024. The overwhelming majority of patients (91 percent) were white.
State figures also show that 76 percent of those who choose medical aid in dying are cremated, a figure that is far greater than the percentage of those in the general population choosing cremation. Only three counties–Monmouth, Morris and Ocean–had more than 10 cases, according to OCSME statistics.
Most people choose to end their lives in their homes as well, and 65 percent of those cases in 2024 were above the age of 65.
New Jersey’s Medical Aid in Dying law outlines strict regulations for patients who choose the method to end their lives, and physicians must observe protocols designed to ensure the process is not abused. Patients must be diagnosed as terminally ill, with a prognosis of dying within six months. They must make two oral requests to a physician for the medication that will facilitate their death. They must put the request in writing after the oral requests, and that written request must be witnessed by two people. Physicians cannot be involved with administering the prescribed drugs.
Only New Jersey residents are eligible for medical aid in dying, a portion of the state law recently affirmed by a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruling.
“New Jersey lets its residents make that choice–but only its residents,” U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote in a December 17, 2025 opinion. “The Constitution lets it draw that line.”
While New Jersey’s law is now more than five years old, other states have now either legalized the procedure or will soon enact it. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the practice into law in December 2025. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul and the state legislature have come to an agreement on changes to a bill that would legalize medical aid in dying. Hochul said the bill will be signed in January 2026.
“My mother died of [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis], and I am all too familiar with the pain of seeing someone you love suffer and being powerless to stop it,” Hochul said in a statement. “Although this was an incredibly difficult decision, I ultimately determined that with the additional guardrails agreed upon with the legislature, this bill would allow New Yorkers to suffer less–to shorten not their lives, but their deaths.”