Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Monday signed a bill that will legalize physician-assisted suicide in California in 2016, according to Reuters.
The law, effective Jan. 1, allows physicians to prescribe medication to end a patient's life if two physicians agree the patient has only six months left to live and is mentally competent. It is based on a similar law in Oregon, according to the report.
Gov. Brown, a former Roman Catholic seminarian, said in a statement he closely considered both sides of the debate before making the decision to sign the bill into law, making California the fifth state to allow assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont also permit physician-assisted suicide.
"I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain," Gov. Brown said, according to the report. "I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldn't deny that right to others."
The law makes it a felony to pressure anyone into requesting or taking assisted suicide drugs, according to the report.
Advocates for physician-assisted suicide have tried and failed six times to persuade California to legalize the practice in the legislature or ballot box before finally winning passage last month, according to the report.
The latest bill was introduced amid the case of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old brain cancer patient who moved from California to Oregon to utilize the state's assisted suicide law and died there, amid nationwide publicity.
Some religious groups, including the Roman Catholic Church, as well as advocates for people with disabilities, strongly opposed the bill.
As it is presently written, the law will expire after 10 years unless it is extended.