New Lawsuit Filed to Block Assisted Suicide in Illinois

Last week, a group of pro-life advocates filed a federal lawsuit to block Illinois’ assisted suicide law from taking effect.

On December 12, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed legislation letting healthcare providers help terminally ill patients end their lives. The law is slated to take effect next month, but a new lawsuit is asking the federal courts to block the law.

The National Catholic Reporter writes:

The Thomas More Society — on behalf of Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Lutheran Care Center in Altamont and four Illinois doctors — filed a lawsuit Aug. 11 against the state’s secretary of finance and professional regulation and the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The Catholic-run public interest law firm is seeking a federal block on the “End of Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act” before it takes effect Sept. 12. The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division states the law violates religious and free speech rights of the First and 14th amendments.

In July, a coalition of disability-rights groups also sued against the so-called Illinois End of Life Options Act, alleging the law discriminates against disabled patients, undermines due process, and weakens longstanding suicide-prevention protections.

Experience has shown again and again that assisted-suicide laws don’t help people who are sick and dying.

Oregon first allowed physician-assisted suicide in 1998, and official state reports have shown for years that the reasons people give most often for wanting to end their lives are loss of autonomy, decreasing ability to participate in activities that make life enjoyable, and loss of dignity.

Most patients do not express concerns about pain.

In Oregon, terminally ill patients routinely receive lethal prescriptions without being referred for psychological or psychiatric evaluation.

Last year, less than 1% of patients approved for physician-assisted suicide in Oregon were referred for a psychiatric evaluation. That’s a serious problem.

Many of these patients are lonely and feel like they are losing control over their lives because of their illness. They need counseling and support — not a prescription for deadly drugs.

A physician in Quebec recently made headlines for actually suggesting the Canadian Medical Aid in Dying program be broadened to include babies. Others have lobbied for Canada to expand assisted suicide to include people suffering solely from mental health conditions like anxiety or depression.

In parts of the U.S. where physician-assisted suicide is legal, insurance companies have refused to pay for patients’ medical care, but have offered to cover assisted-suicide drugs.

Peer-reviewed research from the U.S. has found people with eating disorders have been wrongly approved for assisted suicide — even in states where assisted suicide is supposed to be limited to patients with terminal illnesses.

And we have heard stories about patients in Europe and Canada being denied care or actively euthanized thanks to bad government policies.

That’s why Family Council has worked hard to block assisted suicide legislation in Arkansas.

In 2019 and 2021, Arkansas lawmakers wisely rejected very bad end-of-life laws that were flawed and fundamentally disrespected the right to life. Family Council worked closely with our friends in the legislature to stop these proposals.

Being pro-life means believing innocent human life is sacred from conception until natural death. Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted-suicide are murder, and they violate the sanctity of human life.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.