Democratic Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation on Friday legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Illinois, a move critics warn could turn the state into a national destination for what they describe as “suicide tourism.”
The new law allows doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients who have been given a prognosis of six months or less to live. The measure cleared the Democratic-controlled state Senate just after midnight on Halloween by a narrow 30–27 vote and had been sitting on Pritzker’s desk for more than a month before he signed it.
Pritzker defended the legislation by pointing to personal stories from residents affected by terminal illness.
“I have been deeply impacted by the stories of Illinoisans or their loved ones that have suffered from a devastating terminal illness,” Pritzker said, adding that he was moved by what he described as their desire for “freedom and choice at the end of life.”
Opponents argue the law goes far beyond personal choice and raises serious ethical, legal, and religious liberty concerns. Conservative advocates say it could pressure doctors into facilitating assisted suicide and force religious hospitals to accommodate the practice.
Under the law, Christian hospitals and medical institutions are barred from firing or disciplining doctors or employees who participate in assisted suicide, a provision critics say undermines conscience protections.
The Thomas More Society, a conservative legal group that previously said it would sue if the bill became law, condemned the decision.
“This is a dark and sorrowful day for Illinois,” said Thomas Olp, executive vice president of the Thomas More Society. “When the state signals that some lives are no longer worth living, the most vulnerable pay the price. Instead of offering true compassion, support, and care, this law offers a fatal prescription.”
The group warned that the legislation places elderly, disabled, and vulnerable patients at heightened risk and erodes long-standing protections for doctors who object to assisted suicide on moral or religious grounds.
“By legalizing physician-assisted suicide, the Land of Lincoln has crossed a profound moral and legal red line,” the organization said. “This places vulnerable lives at risk, tramples the inherent dignity of human life, and weakens conscience rights in medicine.”
Illinois is now the 12th state to legalize assisted suicide and the first in the Midwest to do so. Critics argue its central location and broad eligibility standards could draw patients from neighboring states where the practice remains illegal.
“There’s a significant concern that this will turn Illinois into a suicide tourism state,” Thomas More Society litigation chief Peter Breen said earlier.
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