{"id":25139,"date":"2025-12-13T15:58:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T21:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=25139"},"modified":"2025-12-13T15:58:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T21:58:07","slug":"pritzker-signs-medical-aid-in-dying-bill-amid-religious-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/25139-pritzker-signs-medical-aid-in-dying-bill-amid-religious-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Pritzker Signs &#8220;Medical Aid in Dying&#8221; Bill Amid Religious Opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>(GOV. J.B. PRITZKER SIGNS A BILL INTO LAW EARLIER THIS YEAR)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By MAGGIE DOUGHERTY <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capitol News Illinois <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"mailto:mdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Article Summary<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law Friday that will allow terminally ill Illinoisians to end their lives with physician-prescribed medication. The legislation will go into effect in nine months.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The law will apply only to mentally capable adults who have been determined by doctors to have less than six months to live. Major depressive disorder alone does not make a person eligible for end-of-life medication.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patients must have sign-off from two physicians and pass a mental evaluation to ensure that they are not being coerced into their decision.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CHICAGO \u2014 Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law Friday that will allow terminally ill adults in Illinois to take life-ending medication prescribed by physicians.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The controversial bill overcame <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/legislature-passes-medical-aid-in-dying-bill-that-governor-says-he-will-review\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">strong opposition<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from religious groups and some disability rights advocates who feared it could endanger Illinoisians with disabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critics call the practice \u201cassisted suicide,\u201d while those who support the law say it is not suicide, but rather an option that can bring comfort and dignity to already dying people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI have been deeply impacted by the stories of Illinoisans or their loved ones that have suffered from a devastating terminal illness, and I have been moved by their dedication to standing up for freedom and choice at the end of life in the midst of personal heartbreak,\u201d Pritzker said in a news release announcing his decision to sign the bill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Illinois law will take effect beginning in September of 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Groups like the Catholic Conference of Illinois called on the governor to veto the bill and, as an alternative, \u201cexpand and improve on palliative care programs that offer expert assessment and management of pain and other symptoms.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMany lawmakers chose to ignore the real advances in palliative medical care as an alternative to assisted suicide,\u201d the Catholic Conference of Illinois said in a statement when the bill passed in October. \u201cThese programs support caregivers and help ensure patient care is coordinated with other services. And they represent a compassionate and morally acceptable alternative to assisted suicide.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Illinois becomes the 13th U.S. jurisdiction to authorize the end-of-life option, joining Oregon, Montana, Vermont, California, the District of Columbia and others. Delaware passed a bill authorizing medical aid in dying earlier this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State legislators in New York <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news10.com\/news\/ny-capitol-news\/new-yorkers-still-wait-for-decision-on-medical-aid-in-dying-bill\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">passed a similar bill<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> this June, which requires a signature from Gov. Kathy Hochul by the end of the year before it can become law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If New York\u2019s bill is passed, over 85 million adults representing approximately 25% of the U.S. population will live in states that have authorized medical aid in dying.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>MAID Map Dec 2025<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Compassion &amp; Choices, an organization dedicated to expanding options for end-of-life care, said they <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/compassionandchoices.org\/blog\/looking-ahead-2026-legislative-and-federal-preview-webinar\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plan to push<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for medical aid in dying legislation next year in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Maryland, Virginia and Florida, most of which introduced the legislation this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The organization\u2019s goal is for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/compassionandchoices.org\/about-us\/cc-strategic-plan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">50% of all Americans<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to live in states where medical aid in dying is authorized by 2028, according to its website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Eligibility and limitations<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Illinois law, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ilga.gov\/Legislation\/BillStatus\/FullText?GAID=18&amp;DocNum=1950&amp;DocTypeID=SB&amp;LegId=161335&amp;SessionID=114\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senate Bill 1950<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, applies to terminally ill Illinois adults with a prognosis of less than 6 months to live, as confirmed by two independent physicians. Major depressive disorder is not alone a qualifying condition for receiving end-of-life medication, and patients must be physically able to self-administer the medication.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A patient requesting the medication must pass a mental evaluation by a physician to confirm that they are mentally capable of making the decision and not facing undue influence. Patients must make requests both verbally and in writing, and physicians are required to inform them of alternate hospice care and pain control options.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Read more: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/lawmakers-weigh-whether-to-legalize-medical-aid-in-dying\/\"><b>Lawmakers weigh whether to legalize \u2018medical aid in dying\u2019<\/b><\/a><b> | <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/medical-aid-in-dying-bill-moves-forward-in-illinois\/\"><b>\u2018Medical aid in dying\u2019 bill moves forward in Illinois<\/b><\/a><b> | <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/legislature-passes-medical-aid-in-dying-bill-that-governor-says-he-will-review\/\"><b>Legislature passes \u2018medical aid in dying\u2019 bill that governor says he will review<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill includes protections for physicians such that they cannot be found civilly or criminally liable or face professional discipline for prescribing or refusing to prescribe the medication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Disability rights, religious concerns<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Disability rights groups like the Chicago-based <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accessliving.org\/defending-our-rights\/healthcare\/assisted-suicide\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Access Living<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> oppose medical aid in dying, which they fear could worsen already existing disparities in medical treatment for those with disabilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They worry that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC8722582\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">physician bias<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in perceived quality of life may make physicians more inclined to encourage life-ending treatment over other options for people with disabilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou can\u2019t know for sure if your doctor is going to give you the best possible recommendation, because maybe your doctor actually has a disability problem,\u201d Access Living Advocacy Director Amber Smock <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/video\/bill-allowing-medical-aid-in-dying-headed-to-pritzkers-desk-qajm36\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recently told Chicago Tonight<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cHow can you count on that really being healthcare?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The evidence from other states where the treatment is legal has not demonstrated that, according to researchers and disability advocates in those states. Oregon was the first U.S. state to legalize medical aid in dying, and its law has been continuously in effect since 1994.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2019, Bob Joondeph, then-executive director of Disability Rights Oregon, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/compassionandchoices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Disability-Rights-Oregon-DWD-letter-2-14-19.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">penned a letter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stating that in the 25 years of Oregon\u2019s history with the legislation, the disability advocacy organization had not received a single complaint about a person with disabilities being coerced to utilize end-of-life medication.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather, he said that the complaints received centered on a lack of access to the treatment for those with disabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAll of the complaints we have received have focused on the concern that the Act might discriminate against persons with disabilities who would seek to make use of the Act but have disabilities that would prevent self-administration, thereby denying these persons the ability to use the Act,\u201d Joondeph wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elissa Kozlov, an assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health, studies medical aid in dying legislation and trends.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPeople always raise concerns about coercion or abuse, but we just aren\u2019t seeing that in the data,\u201d Kozlov <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagomag.com\/chicago-magazine\/november-2024\/will-illinois-allow-assisted-suicide-for-terminally-ill\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recently told Chicago Magazine<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cNo horror stories have emerged.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Karen Retzer comes from a family line of medical aid in dying advocacy; both her parents were supporters of the option in Michigan since the 1990s. Retzer, a resident of Champaign, began organizing around the issue in 2016 with other members of her Unitarian Universalist church. That group was later folded into Compassion &amp; Choices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Retzer became a stronger advocate after her mother died in 2012 from pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease where lung tissue becomes scarred and causes difficulty breathing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In response to opposition on religious grounds, Retzer said she thinks medical aid in dying should be a personal choice. Those who don\u2019t want the option can simply opt not to take it, she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhen I saw my mother really suffering at the end, I thought, \u2018Wow, you know, this could have been easier.\u2019 We all knew she was dying, right?\u201d Retzer said in an interview. \u201cProviding comfort to somebody, if they want to, seems to me to be the moral thing to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just having the option makes a difference, Retzer added, even if people don\u2019t use it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhen you\u2019re terminally ill, retaining some autonomy at the end of life can bring peace and forgo a lot of extra suffering,\u201d Retzer said. \u201cThinking back to my mother, it would have been a very compassionate thing to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capitol News Illinois<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(GOV. J.B. PRITZKER SIGNS A BILL INTO LAW EARLIER THIS YEAR) By MAGGIE DOUGHERTY Capitol News Illinois mdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com\u00a0 Article Summary\u00a0 Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law Friday that will allow [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pritzker Signs &quot;Medical Aid in Dying&quot; Bill Amid Religious Opposition - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/25139-pritzker-signs-medical-aid-in-dying-bill-amid-religious-opposition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pritzker Signs &quot;Medical Aid in Dying&quot; 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