CHICAGO (25News Now) – Governor JB Pritzker is considering signing a new bill that would allow people with terminal illness to access medically-assisted death.
The proposed bill states that anyone 18 and older dying of a terminal illness within six months can have the option of medically-assisted death, in which a doctor would prescribe a lethal dose of medication.
Proponents of the bill have said that there have been no substantial cases of abuse or coercion since Oregon became the first state to accept the practice legally in 1997.
However, people opposing the bill have said that patients can sometimes survive a six-month diagnosis, and the impact of a patient’s death could take a toll on family members and doctors providing the medication.
Ralph Rivera, a Chicago-based lobbyist with Illinois Right to Life Action said he believes the bill’s language is flawed and allows for potentially dangerous practices.
“We don’t want to see people end their lives. We want to help those people [with] better hospice, palliative care, and pain management,” he said.
Rivera argued the bill could hurt the psychology of minors, first responders, and veterans. He said the bill also has language in it that recommends a doctor to offer psychological care for a patient seeking to end their life, but that they are not required to do so.
“[For example], with military vets, there’s a higher propensity for suicide than someone in the normal public,” he said. “It’s a bad message to send to our people, our police, and our military veterans.”
Rivera also said the bill does not lay out whether someone has to be with others after taking the life-ending medication.
“In Oregon, which has been doing this for 27 years, they did a study that found out that of a group of about 300 people a year, 33% of them should have seen a psychiatrist or psychologist,” he said.
He said it could also get doctors into legal trouble, based on the wording of the bill.
“For doctors, it says they do not have to participate, but in the bill, it says you have to refer [the patient]. That’s a participation,” Rivera said. “In fact, one of our law firms will sue on that basis if this bill becomes law.”
The bill passed out of the Senate on a 30-27 vote five months after it received a 63-42 positive vote in the House. Pritzker has until Nov. 30 to either veto the bill or sign it, or it could become law after a waiting period with no action.
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