NEW JERSEY SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE RELEASES ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL

BILL CAN BE VOTED ON AS EARLY AS NOVEMBER 14 BY THE FULL SENATE ! PLEASE TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION!

Marie Tasy, Executive Director
New Jersey Right to Life

Despite powerful testimony from many witnesses who urged the Senate Health Committee to not advance A2451/S2474, the Committee released the bill by a voteof 5-3 with 1 abstention. The bill can now be voted on by the full Senate as early as Monday, November 14th, so please take the action requested below.

Those who testified against the bill outnumbered supporters of the bill, so many of whom were bused in (and perhaps paid) to attend the hearing by Compassion and Choices, the lobbying group funded by George Soros, who are pushing this law.

To see how the Senate Health Committee members voted, see below:

Vitale, Joseph F. - Chair 732 855-7441 SenVitale@njleg.org YES

Madden, Fred H. - Vice-Chair 856 232 6700 SenMadden@njleg.org NO

Addiego, Dawn Marie 609 654 1498 SenAddiego@njleg.org YES
Allen, Diane B. 856 314 8835 SenAllen@njleg.org Abstained
Codey, Richard J. 973 535 5017 SenCodey@njleg.org YES
Gordon, Robert M. 201 703 9779 SenGordon@njleg.org YES
Rice, Ronald L. 973 371 5665 SenRice@njleg.org NO
Singer, Robert W. 732 987 5669 SenSinger@njleg.org NO
Whelan, Jim 609 383 1388 SenWhelan@njleg.org YES

We thank all those who came down to Trenton yesterday to testify and support our efforts. It was a very long day, but our work is far from over.
We wish to especially thank Stepanie Packer and her 12 year old daughter, Scarlett who flew out from California to tell their story and urge the Senators to oppose the bill.

We are glad to have helped make her trip to NJ possible. Stephanie is a 34 year old terminally ill wife and mother suffering from scleroderma who was denied her treatment shortly after California legalized assisted suicide. The health insurance company said they would, however, pay for the lethal drugs to end her life. Stephanie is an amazing, brave woman with tremendous courage and an indomitable will to live.

You can view a short video of her story HERE and another video HERE

The NJ Assembly previously passed A2451on October 20, 2016 by one vote, with 41 Yes votes, 29 No votes and 5 abstentions. See how your Assembly Members voted HERE, then take the immediate action listed below to prevent this bill from becoming law in NJ.

      

At this time, we are asking that you do the following:

1. Call and email your State Senator immediately and urge him/her to Vote No on A2451/S2474. Please do both - CALL AND EMAIL THEM. ASK FOR A MEETING IF POSSIBLE. Please provide us with any feedback you receive from your Senator on how they will vote. Please do this again even if you have done so before.

2. Call and email Governor Christie and urge him to veto A2451/S2474 if it reaches his desk. Please do this again even if you have done so before.

You can reach the Governor at 609 292 6000 or by Email HERE

You can send a prewritten email to your State Senator and Governor Christie by going to our website, and click on the heading that says "Legislation," then follow the directions on the Alert that says, "No Assisted Suicide." Do this again, even if you have done so before.

You can also obtain your Senator's name and contact info HERE, or by calling the Office of Legislative Services during regular business hours at 1-800-792-8630 and provide your municipality.

We must be relentless in our efforts to stop this dangerous legislation from becoming law. Please act now!