Barring a last-minute court-ordered injunction, Illinois’ physician-assisted suicide law is scheduled to take effect Saturday subjecting patients with terminal illnesses, depression, and disabilities to significant risks of premature death, warn pro-life advocates in the state.
“As of Saturday, our state will cross a line that few states in our nation have dared to cross,” said Mary Kate Zander, president of Illinois Right to Life (IRL). “Suicide through use of a prescribed medication will become a legally facilitated option in Illinois – but these deaths won’t be recorded as suicides. Illinoisans deserve transparency about the consequences of a law that will affect some of the most vulnerable people in our state.”
“September 12th is not the end of our response to physician-assisted suicide. It marks the beginning of a new responsibility,” Zander continued. “We intend to make sure Illinois families understand this law, recognize its dangers, and know that there are better options available to them.”
Under the new law, eligible adults diagnosed with a terminal disease that is projected to result in death within six months may obtain medication with the intent to end their lives. When a patient dies after taking the medication, however, death is attributed to the underlying terminal disease rather than suicide, and the use of the medication is legally barred from being indicated on the death certificate.
IRL has fought against the proposed legislation for years, highlighting concerns about faulty terminal prognoses, undetected depression and other contributing mental illnesses in patients, as well as the potential for coercion or pressure from physicians or family members. The law’s impact on people with disabilities is also concerning.
The state’s pro-life organization has also warned that the law does not require every patient requesting lethal medication to undergo a mental health evaluation. Primary to IRL’s concerns is the protection of vulnerable patients coupled with the conviction that human dignity does not diminish because of illness, disability, dependence, or proximity to death.
“We spent years warning legislators that there are fundamental problems with physician-assisted suicide that cannot simply be solved by adding another safeguard,” said Ralph Rivera, Legislative Chairman of Illinois Right to Life Action. “Doctors can be wrong about a six-month prognosis, and no law can guarantee that depression, coercion or pressure occurring behind closed doors will always be detected.”
Steve Jacobs, J.D., Ph.D., director of Education for Illinois Right to Life, says that his organization will continue to fight tirelessly to defend the sanctity of human life.
“Families are going to encounter this law during some of the most frightening and difficult moments of their lives,” Jacobs said. “Our goal is not simply to explain what the law permits. We want Illinoisans to understand the compassionate alternatives available to them, and we want to provide them with practical resources for their own end-of-life journeys. Hopefully, we can also prepare them to walk with loved ones in theirs.”
