A dozen terminally ill New Jersey residents used the state’s new medical aid in dying law to end their lives last year, according to a state Department of Health report released Friday.

From August 1 to Dec. 31, 2019, six men and six women ages 50 to 93 took their own lives, according to the report compiled by the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner. The report does not include data from 2020.

Eleven of the patients were white and one was Asian, the report said. Six were married, three were widowed, two were divorced and one was single.

“This report provides public health information to help inform residents of their rights under the state’s law,” Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said in a statement released with the report. “New Jersey’s law empowers terminally ill residents to make their own end-of-life choices humanely and with respect and dignity.”

The law, signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in April 2019, went into effect a year ago Saturday. It permits New Jersey residents with a terminal diagnosis — defined as an incurable, irreversible and medically confirmed disease that is expected to end the person’s life within six months — to seek permission from two doctors to end their lives with a prescription. The patients must make two oral requests and one written request over a minimum of 15 days, submit a request in writing stating they had been “fully informed” of palliative care, pain control and other alternatives. A second physician would need to verify the diagnosis. A mental health professional may be called in to consult.

The written declaration must be witnessed by two people who attest that the patient is acting voluntarily. One of the two witnesses cannot be a person who stands to financially gain from the patient’s death or the patient’s doctor or nursing home employee.

A physician and a pharmacist in north Jersey unsuccessfully challenged the law, saying that even by turning over a file, they would still be complicit in murder, a violation of their religious beliefs and oaths as healers.

Finding a physician willing to help a patient die has proven challenging in every state that has adopted a medical aid in dying law, and New Jersey was no exception.

The family of 80-year-old Zeporah “Zebbie” Geller told NJ Advance Media last fall they had helped her end her suffering from cancer but had trouble finding a physician. They called 40 doctors with no success before the physician, Josef Glassman, filed the challenge to overturn the law in August. When the law was reinstated on August, they resumed their search. Zebbie Geller died Sept. 30 in her son, Paul and his wife Joanne’s home in West Orange.

Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit that has helped states enact aid in dying laws, said 42 medical centers, hospitals, and hospices across the state have adopted policies that help their doctors offer aid in dying services. The organization also has trained more than 500 New Jersey healthcare providers and answered hundreds of questions about the new law.

“Since the law took effect, I have felt free to enjoy the rest of my life without worrying about needlessly suffering in agony when it ends,” said Rumson resident Susan Boyce, who has a progressive, terminal genetic disease called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, that requires her to use an oxygen tank because her lung function is below 30 percent.

“For the last year up until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I have been traveling with my family and enjoying outdoor activities like camping. Before the law passed, I didn’t have the peace of mind to do that,” said Boyce, who testified in support of the legislation before it became law.

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Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.