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Dan Diaz, the husband of Brittany Maynard, an advocate for right-to-die laws who ended her own in 2014 at the age of 29 after moving from California to Oregon, thanked New Jersey lawmakers for passing the law \"without excessive regulations that would prevent dying New Jerseyans from using this option.”

“My wife Brittany Maynard spoke up so terminally ill New Jerseyans in her predicament would not have to leave their home like we did just to secure the option of a gentle dying process,” Diaz said in a statement.

\"PHOTO:
New Jersey Office of the Governor
PHOTO: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that will allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives, April 12, 2019.
>

Lawmakers in New Jersey had been trying unsuccessfully since 2012 to pass the bill, The Associated Press reported.

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia also allow for terminally ill patients to choose to end theirs lives. One in five Americans now live in locations where the option is available, according to Death With Dignity, an organization that promotes laws that allow dying individuals to end their own lives.

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