Illinois Legalizes Assisted Suicide for Terminally Ill
Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker expanded his state’s culture of death on Friday by signing a bill legalizing assisted suicide for the terminally ill.
Illinois is now the 12th state, joining Washington, D.C., to allow doctors to help the terminally ill commit suicide – all in the name of “choice,” compassion and alleviating suffering at the end of life. Pritzker signed the bill despite concerns from opponents that such a law could be a slippery slope (look no further than Canada) and could be used to coerce the disabled and financially struggling to choose death.
“I have been deeply touched by the stories of Illinoisans or their loved ones who have suffered from a devastating terminal illness – and I have been moved by their dedication to defending freedom and choice at the end of life in the midst of personal grief,” Pritzker said in a statement.
“Today, Illinois honors their strength and courage by enacting legislation that allows patients facing debilitating terminal illnesses to make a decision, in consultation with a physician, that helps them avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives,” he continued.
“This legislation will be thoughtfully implemented so that doctors can consult with their patients on making deeply personal decisions with authority, autonomy and empathy,” he added.
The bill, called the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, would allow people who are at least 18 years old and residing in Illinois to request and self-administer medications to end their lives if they have a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less to live. The bill includes some safeguards, such as two requests with a five-day waiting period between the first and second request, a medical exam, informed consent requirements and mental capacity evaluations, as well as state data collection and certain conscience protections for health care workers.
“With this legislation, we are strengthening our commitment to compassionate care for every patient, bodily autonomy for every person, and basic human dignity at every stage of life,” Illinois House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) said in a statement.
The Illinois House passed the bill in May and the Illinois Senate passed it on Halloween.
Thomas More Society, a national conservative public interest law firm based in Chicago, called the signing of the law “a tragic and dangerous turning point for the moral and constitutional landscape of our state.
“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,” said Thomas Olp, executive vice president of the Thomas More Society. “Instead of offering true compassion, support and care, this law offers a fatal prescription. That’s not pity. It’s abandonment.”
“By legalizing physician-assisted suicide, the Land of Lincoln has crossed a deep moral and legal red line. As written into law, this fatal misstep puts vulnerable lives at risk, tramples upon the inherent dignity of human life, and erodes the fundamental rights of conscience of health care professionals and religious medical practices,” he added.
Olp warned that the law threatens conscience rights and religious freedom because it requires opposing doctors to refer patients to providers who will participate in ending patients’ lives.
RELATED: Euthanasia Now So Popular in Canada, Killer Doctors Struggle to Keep Up with Demand
“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,” he said. “This is unconscionable coercion, plain and simple. No doctor should be ordered by the government to participate directly or indirectly in a process that deliberately ends a human life.”
The Thomas More Society also said the law would require religious hospitals and clinics to have staff to promote assisted suicide on-site, provided those employees provide lethal drugs off-site.
“This is a Trojan horse designed to violate and undermine the missions of religious health care institutions. Governor Pritzker’s assisted suicide law threatens the integrity of Catholic and Christian medical institutions across the state,” Olp said.
“State law should never endorse the idea that suffering or illness makes a life disposable,” he continued. “We urge Illinoisans, people of faith, dedicated healthcare professionals and all who cherish human life, to stand with us in the fight to defend the vulnerable and protect fundamental freedoms.”
Illinois House Republicans released a statement calling the bill “bad for Illinois.”
“It tells the disabled, the poor, the terminally ill, those with mental health issues that they are a burden and that they have a duty to die. It is ripe for coercion and abuse by unscrupulous actors,” state Republicans said.
Right to Life National President Carol Tobias released a statement saying, “Assisted suicide is not health care, and it is not compassion. »
“This law abandons people at their most vulnerable moments and sends the message that their lives are not worth living. It puts Illinois on a path where the elderly, those with disabilities or those dealing with serious illness may find themselves under pressure – subtly or overtly – to end their lives prematurely,” she said.
Pritzker’s office said the bill will not take effect until September 12, 2026, “which gives participating health care providers and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) significant lead time to implement strict processes and protections as outlined in the law.”
Illinois joins Delaware, Vermont, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, New Jersey, Montana, Maine, Hawaii, Colorado, California and Washington, D.C., in allowing doctors to allow certain people to commit suicide.
A similar bill on assisted suicide has been on the desk of New York Governor Kathy Hochul (Democrat) for several months. Hochul has reportedly proposed several amendments that would add some basic safeguards to the broadly worded bill, and behind-the-scenes discussions are underway, sources familiar with the matter told a local media outlet.
Katherine Hamilton is a politics reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on @thekat_hamilton
