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Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation that will allow assisted suicide in his state.
The Medical Aid in Dying bill or “Deb’s Law” will take effect in September of 2026, allowing terminally ill adults to obtain life-ending medication, in consultation with their physician.
Patients must self-administer the medication, and they can withdraw their request at any time.
It will be a felony to coerce or falsify a request.
Physicians who oppose assisted suicide will be required to refer patients to other physicians who don’t.
Illinois is now the 12th state, as well as the District of Columbia, to allow assisted suicide either by legislation or court ruling.
Pritzker said the legislation will help terminal patients “avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives,” and will be “thoughtfully implemented so that physicians can consult patients on making deeply personal decisions with authority, autonomy and empathy.”
Illinois’ ACLU applauded the decision, saying terminally ill patients will “no longer have to agonize about spending their remaining days fearful of a painful death.”
Religious groups, however, almost entirely opposed the bill.
“Proponents argue that this legislation will end suffering at the end-of-life,” the Catholic Bishops of Illinois wrote in a September statement.
“Assisted suicide is not the 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 accompany these people compassionately that truly confer the love for, and dignity of, each human life.”
“The poor and those with disabilities are particularly in jeopardy as they are the most vulnerable to such abuses,” the Catholic Conference of Illinois wrote.
“In response, every major national organization that represents people with disabilities is opposed to assisted suicide.”
The Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm, wrote in a statement that Illinois has “crossed a moral and legal red line.”
“This is a dark and sorrowful day for Illinois. When the state signals that some lives are no longer worth living, the most vulnerable pay the price. Instead of offering true compassion, support, and care, this law offers a fatal prescription. That is not mercy. It is abandonment.”
The law is named after Deb Robertson, an Illinois resident with a rare terminal illness. In a statement she said she “know[s] the end for me could be near. But I’m pleased to have been able to play some role in ensuring that terminally ill Illinoisans have access to medical aid in dying.”
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