In the early hours of Oct. 31, the Illinois state legislature passed SB 1950, known as the “End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act,” which could make it legal for residents to end their life with the aid of a physician. The bill is headed to Gov. JB Pritzker for approval.
“With the passage of legislation to legalize assisted suicide in Illinois, the Illinois General Assembly has put our state on a slippery path that jeopardizes the well-being of the poor and marginalized, especially those in the disability community and have foreseeable tragic consequences,” the Illinois Catholic Conference said in a statement. “With all the assaults on human dignity and the growing number of vulnerable people we see every day, sadly the leaders and members of the General Assembly who voted for this offer us suicide as its response.”
State leaders failed to consider advances in palliative care that can help people suffering from terminal illnesses, the conference said.
“Rather than signing this bill, we ask the Governor to expand and improve on palliative care programs that offer expert assessment and management of pain and other symptoms. These 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.”
Cardinal Cupich released a statement in May when the Illinois House of Representatives passed the bill and questioned the leaders’ support for assisted suicide.
“I have to ask why, in a time when growing understanding of the deteriorating mental health of the U.S. population — and particularly among our youth — caused the country to create the 988 mental health crisis line, we would want to take this step to normalize suicide as a solution to life’s challenges,” he wrote. “While the bill sets parameters for assisted suicide, the data from places where assisted suicide is available are clear. Rates of all suicide went up after the passage of such legislation. These rates are already unacceptably high, and proposed cutbacks in medical care funding will add to the burden faced by those contemplating suicide.”
In its Oct. 31 statement, the Illinois Catholic Conference said more pressing issues face residents that they should address.
“Today, we face real and immediate threats to human life and dignity, many from the very institutions created to protect them. The government shut down, a growing number of private and government sector layoffs, the terrorizing and deportation of our neighbors, and the loss of food and medical assistance for the poor and vulnerable are immediate problems that need attention, not enacting assisted suicide.”
Assisted suicide negatively impacts impressionable young people, the conference said, citing a 2022 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found suicide to be the second leading cause of death for U.S. teens and young adults aged 10-34.
“And, according to the National Institutes of Health, suicide contagion is a real risk to these young people after exposure to suicide. Add to that the ready availability of firearms in the U.S. and this is a tragedy we do not need to compound,” the statement read. “It defies common sense for our state to enact a 9-8-8 suicide hotline, increase funding for suicide prevention programs and then pass a law that, based on the experience of other jurisdictions, results in more suicide.”