Delaware Woman, Doctor, File Lawsuit Over New Jersey’s Assisted Suicide Residency Requirement

If the plaintiffs win, access could be greatly expanded to those living outside The Garden State.

Via YouTube
The appeal was filed on behalf of two people, including Judy Govatos, a Delaware woman with stage-4 lymphoma. Via YouTube

A Delaware woman and a physician filed an appeal with the Third Circuit Court in a lawsuit challenging New Jersey’s residency requirement for assisted suicide — indicating a likely legal battle over whether a state can prevent its doctors from helping their out-of-state patients die.

The appeal was filed on behalf of a Delaware woman with stage-4 lymphoma, Judy Govatos, and a New Jersey-based physician, Dr. Paul Bryman, by a nonprofit group called Compassion & Choices. They argue that the residency rules violate the Constitution by preventing patients from accessing the procedure and by denying doctors the ability to provide it to their patients.  

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