Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signs physician-assisted suicide law, sparking outrage

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Friday that will allow eligible terminally ill adult patients to obtain life-ending medications in consultation with their doctors, making Illinois the last state to allow physician-assisted suicide for people with a prognosis of six months or less.

The law, known as the Medical Assistance in Dying Bill or “Deb Law,” will take effect in September 2026 to give participating health care providers and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) time to implement rigorous processes and protections.

Deb Robertson, a longtime Illinois resident with a rare terminal illness who the bill is named after, said in a statement that she “knows[s] the end for me could be near. But I’m glad I was able to play a role in ensuring that terminally ill Illinoisans have access to medical assistance in dying.

A doctor prepares a syringe containing Thiopental, a barbiturate used in the practice of euthanasia. (Getty Images)

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Pritzker, a Democrat, wrote in a news release that the legislation will help terminally ill patients “avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives” and that it will be “thoughtfully implemented so that physicians can consult with patients about making deeply personal decisions with authority, autonomy and empathy.”

The ACLU of Illinois applauded the new measure, saying terminally ill patients living in Illinois “will no longer have to worry about spending their remaining days in fear of a painful death.”

While Pritzker’s office included a quote from Chicago Episcopalian pastor Rev. Judith Doran supporting the law, other groups, including the Illinois Catholic Conference, have issued statements opposing any legislation that would legalize assisted suicide.

“Supporters argue that this legislation will end suffering at the end of life,” the Catholic bishops of Illinois wrote in a statement released in September. “Assisted suicide is not a compassionate solution for those who are suffering. Through palliative care, expanded access to mental health care, and stronger family and community support, providers and families are finding better ways to support these individuals with compassion, truly bringing love and dignity to every human life.”

Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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They added that the “unintended consequences” of legalizing assisted suicide include documented cases of people being denied life-saving medical treatment by insurance companies instead of the much cheaper option of life-ending drugs.

“The poor and disabled are particularly at risk because they are most vulnerable to such abuse,” the Illinois Catholic Conference wrote. “In response, all major national organizations that represent people with disabilities oppose assisted suicide.”

Patients must self-administer the drug, with the law making it a crime to coerce anyone into requesting the drug or falsifying a request.

Eligible patients receiving medications have the right to withdraw their request at any time or choose not to ingest them, according to the release.

Disability campaigners from Distant Voices and Not Dead stage a demonstration outside Westminster Hall in central London on April 29, 2024, to protest against proposals to legalize assisted suicide in the UK. (Getty Images)

Death certificates of those who commit physician-assisted suicide under the bill will list their cause of death as an underlying terminal illness.

The Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm, said in a statement Friday that Illinois had “crossed a moral and legal red line.”

“This is a dark and painful day for Illinois. When the state signals that some lives are no longer worth living, the most vulnerable pay the price,” Thomas Olp, executive vice president of the Thomas More Society, wrote in a statement. “Instead of offering true compassion, support and care, this law offers a fatal prescription. That’s not pity. It’s abandonment.”

In addition to its “serious social and moral implications,” the law firm noted that the law threatens the conscience rights of doctors opposed to assisted suicide, as well as the freedom of association of religious medical institutions.

Although physicians, health care providers, and pharmacists are not required to participate, the bill requires physicians who oppose assisted suicide for moral or religious reasons to refer their patients to providers who will participate in ending their lives.

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“The state requires doctors to become active participants and cooperators in a patient’s suicide, regardless of whether their faith, ethics, or the Hippocratic Oath prohibit it,” Olp wrote. “This is unconscionable coercion, plain and simple. No physician should be ordered by the government to participate, directly or indirectly, in a process that deliberately ends a human life.”

Beyond the law’s mandatory referral mandate, the law also requires religious hospitals and clinics to retain on-site personnel who promote assisted dying, provided that such personnel provide lethal medications off-site.

“This is a Trojan horse designed to violate and undermine the missions of religious health institutions,” Olp wrote. “Governor Pritzker’s assisted suicide law threatens the integrity of Catholic and Christian medical institutions across the state…State law should never endorse the idea that suffering or illness makes a life disposable.”

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, contact Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).