Chicago Tribune — Legislation that would allow terminally ill people to end their lives with the help of a doctor was narrowly passed by the Illinois House and now heads to the Senate.
It marks the first time a medical aid in dying bill has passed through one legislative chamber in Illinois since advocates unsuccessfully pushed for the practice to be legalized in the state last year.
The bill passed late Thursday by a 63-42 vote, just three votes more than the minimum number required for bills to pass the House by a simple majority, with a handful of Democrats joining Republicans in voting against it.
“I think that the one of the most frightening things about death for most of us is that it means the ultimate loss of control,” Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who voted for the bill, said during the House debate.
“Death, like life, is easier to navigate when you know you will have options to choose from, even if you never need to or even if you choose not to.”
If a bill is passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois would join about 10 other states, among them Oregon, California, Colorado and Hawaii, as well as Washington, D.C., in allowing medical aid in dying.
The legislation received support from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and Compassion and Choices Action Network.
Opponents, including disability rights activists and the Catholic church, say it could lead to discrimination, coercion and abuse. Some medical practitioners also opposed the measure.
Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, issued a statement criticizing the bill and the House vote in its favor …
RELATED:
Press Release, November 20, 2024
Pro-Life Organizations, Christian Employers Sue Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker Over Unconstitutional Abortion-Coverage Mandate
THOMAS MORE SOCIETY, Chicago, Illinois) In a federal lawsuit filed November 20, 2024, pro-life organizations, a church, and Christian employers, are suing Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and other state officials to enjoin them from enforcing an unconstitutional law requiring health insurers to cover elective abortions and abortion-inducing drugs.
Thomas More Society attorneys filed the federal complaint on behalf of Students for Life of America, Midwest Bible Church, Pro-Life Action League, Illinois Right to Life, Clapham School, and DuPage Precision Products.
Illinois law currently requires health-insurance policies to cover elective abortions on the same terms as they cover pregnancy-related benefits. It also requires insurers to provide abortion-inducing drugs free of charge to any beneficiary who demands them, which forces other beneficiaries to pay for these abortions with their premiums.
The Illinois law provides no exceptions or accommodations for employers or individuals who object to abortion on religious or moral grounds. The complaint asks the court to block state officials from enforcing these abortion-coverage mandates, which violate the free exercise and expressive association rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, as well as numerous federal statutes.
Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President & Head of Litigation, said: “For Christians and many other pro-life advocates, Illinois’ abortion-coverage mandate is fundamentally opposed to their religious beliefs and runs roughshod over their constitutionally protected conscience rights. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his administration are on an uncompromising campaign to transform the Land of Lincoln into the nation’s abortion capital.
In doing so, they have shown little-to-no regard for the rights of those who believe that all human life is worth protecting. We are proud to represent this coalition of clients in challenging this unconscionable mandate. There’s no reason for pro-life individuals and organizations to be denied the option to choose an insurance policy that exempts them from covering others’ elective abortions.”
SFLA President Kristan Hawkins made the following comments: “If billionaire Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants to pay for abortions in his state out of the generosity of his heart, that can be his choice. Instead, Pritzker and state officials have manipulated and supported a law to force all Illinois residents to cover his choice of abortion for them.
In fact, when spending his money in the election, it was to get more radical abortion policies in place, to demand others to pay for abortion. Students for Life of America’s team members and supporters in Illinois should not be forced to violate our consciences just because the abortion lobby and its cheerleaders like the governor have moved from ‘choice’ to coercion.”
Read the Complaint in Students for Life of America v. Gillespie, filed by Jonathan F. Mitchell and Thomas More Society attorneys on November 20, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois – Eastern Division, here.
