California becomes fifth US state to allow euthanasia

The other US states that allow assisted suicide are Montana, Oregon, Washington and Vermont

California has become the fifth US state to allow physician-assisted suicide, after the governor signed a controversial bill letting terminally-ill patients seek a doctor's help ending their lives.

Governor Jerry Brown, in a statement yesterday, said he consulted members of the Catholic Church, which is opposed to measure, as well as physicians, before making the decision.

"In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death," said the 77-year-old governor, who as a young man studied to enter the priesthood.

"I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain," Brown said.

"I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill," he added.

"And I wouldn't deny that right to others."

The bill makes California the fifth US state to allow assisted suicide after Montana, Oregon, Washington and Vermont.

A New Mexico judge in 2014 approved assisted suicide, but his decision was later struck down by an appeals court.

Euthanasia has long been a controversial issue in the United States.

The topic was brought to the forefront in California by the case of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old with a brain tumor who moved from San Francisco to Oregon and took her own life last November.