Illinois legalizes assisted suicide

Illinois has become the 12th state, along with the District of Columbia, to legalize assisted suicide, amid outcry among the state’s Catholic bishops and other pro-life and disability advocates. On December 12, Gov. JB Pritzker signed SB 1950 into law, allowing terminally ill adults who are Illinois residents to end their lives through self-administered lethal drugs prescribed by a physician. The terminal diagnosis must be confirmed after an in-person evaluation by a physician, with a second physician concurring. In their letter to Pritzker, Illinois’ bishops said the legislation “is not about compassion.”