A bill recently passed in the Illinois state legislature could give certain patients with terminal conditions the ability to request lethal medication from their doctors — if Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs it into law.
The bill, called the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, has support from a slim majority of state senators and representatives, but faces opposition from disability services organizations, right-to-life advocates and the Catholic church.
Option to ‘die with dignity’ or flawed system
The bill would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to people with terminal illnesses, but only those with a prognosis of six months or less to live who are deemed mentally competent. The bill sets rules for how the requests for life-ending medication must be made, witnessed, recorded and approved. It also allows doctors and health care providers to opt out.
State Sen. Laura Ellman, who represents the 21st District in parts of Naperville and surrounding communities, is one of the bill’s sponsors.
“When the (lethal) medication is prescribed, it’s the patient that gets to decide if they’re taking it — because it’s self-administered,” Ellman said. “It’s really in their hands.”
For people facing terminal illnesses, Ellman said, the pending legislation could provide an option “to die with dignity.”
But opponents call the measure flawed and say there could be cases in which the choice does not truly remain with the patient because of a lack of resources, bias among doctors, issues with insurance or other stigmas and pressures.
The very “existence of the option” to request lethal medication “creates some problems,” said Amber Smock, vice president of advocacy for Access Living of Metro Chicago, an organization serving people with disabilities.
Smock said challenges accessing medical care and other supports can cause despair and depression, a condition which could be mistaken for suicidal tendencies. She said this — coupled with the chance that some doctors may perceive quality of life to be lower for people with disabilities — may lead those in the disability community to be pushed toward the life-ending option.
“That level of bias among doctors doesn’t disappear when a patient asks about assisted death,” Smock said. “The bias is going to be there. This bill is not going to change that … and that is one of the things that makes us very, very nervous about assisted suicide.”
New end-of-life option could be possible
If the governor signs the act into law, Illinois would join at least 10 other states that allow the prescription of lethal medication in certain cases. Ellman said she’s heard from families — including some of her own relatives — who want this option to be available.
“I visited a senior living facility recently and I mentioned this bill, that it had passed, and I got a round of applause,” Ellman said. “There are people who are perfectly healthy, but they want to have this potential option should those questions arise.”
Members of Illinois Right to Life, however, want people to choose life over life-ending medication, lobbyist Molly Rumley said. Rumley echoed the concern that despair over a terminal diagnosis could lead patients to consider a lethal prescription, when — with mental health treatment in addition to physical care — they may want to continue living.
The Illinois proposal requires doctors to provide “accurate information” about all medical options for the end of life, Ellman said, including palliative care, pain management and hospice — not just lethal medication. But opponents remain concerned.
“We are aware of other states where people have actually been denied insurance coverage for treatment, but the insurance company is willing to pay for the assisted suicide,” Rumley said. “We think that that’s just terrible and really awful. We want people to make the choice for life.”
Next steps depend on Gov. Pritzker
After passing both houses of the state legislature, the decision of whether to allow life-ending medication in Illinois lies in the hands of Gov. Pritzker. Pritzker’s office has not responded to a request for comment.
If the governor signs the bill, Ellman said a rule-making and administrative process would occur next, during which the Illinois Department of Public Health would create forms for requesting the medication and collecting anonymized data about the new option.
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