‘Medical aid in dying’ bill moves forward in Illinois
[May 31, 2025]
By Andrew Adams
SPRINGFIELD — Terminally ill Illinoisans may have the legal option to
end their own life with the help of a physician next year under a bill
approved by lawmakers Thursday.
The procedure, which advocates and the bill call “medical aid in dying,”
would give people in a sound mental state with severe health issues the
option to end their life with the help of a doctor.
Under Senate Bill 1950, doctors would be allowed to prescribe terminally
ill patients a lethal dose of medication that they could self-administer
at a time of their choice.
Advocates for the procedure, which is legal in 10 states and the
District of Columbia, say it provides agency to people at the end of
their life.
“I want to enjoy the time I have left with my family and friends,” Deb
Robertson, a terminally ill woman, told lawmakers via Zoom on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to worry about how my death will happen. It’s really the
only bit of control left for me.”
The measure passed in the House 63-42 after more than an hour of
intense, sometimes tear-filled debate. It now awaits action in the
Senate. Senators have a matter of hours to pass the bill before their
scheduled adjournment Saturday.
The bill outlines a process that includes two doctors recommending the
procedure, sometimes referred to as medically assisted suicide, and
limits the people who are eligible. People must be of sound mind and
have a prognosis of less than six months.
Death certificates of those who use the procedure would also list their
underlying diseases, not “suicide,” reflecting the common belief among
advocates that the procedure should not be called suicide. Bill sponsor
Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, noted in debate Thursday that the
provision would also “prevent inappropriate suicide investigations.”
But even with these protections, some oppose allowing the procedure.
Medical associations are divided on the issue. The American Medical
Association, the largest and most influential medical association, notes
an “irreducible moral tension” inherent in the practice.
The AMA’s Code of Ethics, for many years, said the procedure is
“fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer.” The
association has recently softened its stance, opening the door for
physicians to act on their own conscience on the matter.
Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, a practicing physician, opposed the bill and
told his colleagues during debate Thursday that it “changes forever the
soul of medicine.”
During the House debate, the division among the health care industry
reared its head. Rep. Nicolle Grasse, D-Arlington Heights, is a hospice
chaplain and was supportive of the bill.
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Supporters of a bill to legalize “medical aid in dying” cry as it
passes in the Illinois House on Thursday. Pictured left to right:
Daisy Orihuela, Amy Sherman and Donna Smith. (Capitol News Illinois
photo by Andrew Adams)
“I’ve seen hospice ease pain and suffering and offer dignity and quality
of life as people are dying, but I’ve also seen the rare moments when
even the best care cannot relieve suffering and pain, when patients ask
us with clarity and peace for the ability to choose how their life
ends,” she said.
Outside of health care, religious groups and disability rights advocates
are also divided. Members of both parties invoked their faith during
floor debate, including Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, an ordained
Christian minister.
“Life is sacred. Death is sacred, too,” West said. “The sanctity of life
includes the sanctity of death. This bill allows, if one chooses by
themselves, for someone with a terminal diagnosis to have a dignified
death.”
Republicans, who are generally more aligned with pro-life religious
groups, opposed the bill. Catholic groups say procedures like medically
assisted suicide violate the church’s teachings and many conservative
protestant groups oppose the practice as well.
Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dietrich, said the procedure does not “uphold the
dignity of every human life.”
“This does not respect the Gospel,” Niemerg, who is Catholic, said
during debate. “This does not respect the teachings of Jesus Christ or
uphold the values of God.”
Disability rights activists are also split on the issue. Sebastian Nalls,
a policy analyst at the disability rights organization Access Living,
said that if the procedure is legalized, insurers may pressure some sick
people into it instead of expensive treatment.
“This bill carries far too many loopholes and lacks oversight to be safe
and equitable, but the bottom line for Access Living is this: The
existence of assisted suicide is a threat, to not just the kind of
health care we deserve, but a threat to our ability to live and die with
dignity,” Nalls said in a committee hearing Wednesday.
Other disability rights advocates, like Beth Langen, note that
“disability is not terminal.”
“Death, like life, is easier to navigate when you know you will have
options to choose from, even if you never need to,” Langen said at
Wednesay’s hearing.
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by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
