Illinois's new assisted suicide law is running up against significant challenges ahead of its September 12 start date. Catholics, Lutherans, and doctors are teaming up to sue the state over what they say is a violation of religious freedoms and centuries of tradition. The End of Life Options Act (EOLO), also known as "Deb's Law," both legalizes assisted suicide and requires religious people to consult and even promote the "benefits" of assisted suicide.
Catholic Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, is suing the state over its new assisted-suicide law, arguing that it forces Catholic hospitals and those who serve in them to violate their religious convictions and participate in a system that promotes suicide.… pic.twitter.com/JK1ouWiauC
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The complaint argues the EOLO violates religious liberty and free speech rights, naming objections to multiple provisions.
According to the complaint, the EOLO Act would force religious healthcare institutions to allow their employees to promote and assist with off-site assisted suicides without being terminated or disciplined, which plaintiffs say directly challenges their right to govern their own institution. If doctors refuse to comply, they have to record both the refusal and the patient's request in their medical records to begin the process at another facility. Physicians would also be compelled to lie on death certificates about the cause of death. Additionally, the complaint takes issue with the wording of the law, which threatens to fine or sanction institutions that convey "misinformation to obstruct access" to assisted suicide. The religious argue the vague wording will prevent them from "calling assisted suicide what it is and distinguishing it from legitimate health care," or otherwise face up to $10,000 fines, license revocation, and criminal prosecution.
Thomas More Society filed suit on behalf of Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, the Lutheran Care Center, and four Catholic Illinois physicians, who all gave statements regarding their opposition to the law. "At the heart of the Catholic Church’s healthcare ministry is the healing work of Christ — to stand with the suffering, to comfort the dying, and to affirm the God-given dignity of every human life,” said Bishop Paprocki. “Illinois’s assisted suicide law undermines that mission by forcing Catholic hospitals and those who serve in them to push death onto their most vulnerable patients. We must be free to serve the sick and the dying according to our faith, not according to the state’s mandate.”
Two of the plaintiffs are oncologists who will be "especially likely" to face requests for assisted suicide given that most patients who seek it have been diagnosed with cancer, according to the complaint. The Lutheran Care Center has also served nearly 3,000 patients since its establishment in 1969, and is supported by 20 local Lutheran churches, who would also religiously object.
Illinois is one of 13 states plus Washington, D.C. to enact assisted suicide laws. Just last week, New York enacted its Medical Aid in Dying Act, despite an effort by four orders of Catholic Nuns to halt enactment. The plaintiffs were granted a temporary injunction that exempts them from complying while the lawsuit remains pending in federal court.
Similarly to the New York Nuns, the plaintiffs intend to file a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the coming days.
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