Article By Illinois Right to Life
Barring a preliminary injunction, Illinois’ physician-assisted suicide law will take effect on Saturday, September 12th, placing patients facing terminal illness and the end of life at great risk of exploitation and tainting important public health data by misrepresenting suicides as other causes of death.
Under the new law, eligible adults diagnosed with a terminal disease that is expected 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.
“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. “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.”
Illinois Right to Life (IRL) has opposed the legislation for years, raising concerns about inaccurate terminal prognoses, undetected depression and other compromising mental illnesses in patients, coercion or pressure from physicians or family members, and the law’s impact on people with disabilities.. IRL has also warned that the law does not require every patient requesting lethal medication to undergo a mental health evaluation. Central to IRL’s concerns is the protection of vulnerable patients and 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.”
In response to the passage of the law, IRL is shifting its focus toward educating Illinois residents and equipping patients and families with alternatives to assisted suicide.
Physician-assisted suicide will be the focus of IRL’s 2026 GroundZero Tour. Twenty-three events have already been scheduled across Illinois, with many more pending.
At each event, IRL will distribute a comprehensive resource guide, “Physician-Assisted Suicide in Illinois: A Guide to Law, Ethics, Medicine, and Care”, explaining the new law and helping patients, vulnerable individuals and their families understand palliative and hospice care, ask informed questions of medical providers, and navigate end-of-life decisions without resorting to assisted suicide.
“Families are going to encounter this law during some of the most frightening and difficult moments of their lives,” said Dr. Steve Jacobs, J.D., Ph.D., Director of Education for Illinois Right to Life. “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.”
For IRL, the initiative reflects a principle that has guided its work for decades: every human life possesses inherent dignity and value, including people with disabilities and those approaching the end of life.
“September 12th is not the end of our response to physician-assisted suicide. It marks the beginning of a new responsibility,” Zander said. “We intend to make sure Illinois families understand this law, recognize its dangers, and know that there are better options available to them.”
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