Illinois legalizes medical aid in dying
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed the Medical Aid in Dying bill, known as Deb’s Law, allowing eligible terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to obtain life-ending medication starting September 2026. The law requires patients to self-administer the drug, makes coercion or forging a request a felony, and lists the underlying terminal disease as the cause of death; IDPH and providers are given time to implement safeguards. The ACLU of Illinois praised the move while the Catholic Conference of Illinois opposed it, warning of risks to poor and disabled patients.
📌 Key Facts
- Signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Dec. 12, 2025; effective September 2026
- Eligibility: terminally ill adults with ≤6-month prognosis; self-administration required
- Coercion or forged requests are felonies; death certificates list underlying disease
- IDPH to implement processes and protections before rollout
- Backed by ACLU of Illinois; opposed by the Catholic Conference of Illinois
📊 Relevant Data
In Oregon in 2024, 91.8% of patients who died under the Death with Dignity Act were White, while Whites make up approximately 76.6% of Oregon's population.
2024 Oregon Death with Dignity Act Data Summary — Oregon Health Authority
Support for physician-assisted suicide is much lower among Black Americans than White Americans in the US.
Diverse racial, ethnic and cultural perspectives of assisted dying. A scoping review — Palliative Medicine
White patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma received palliative care consultations three times more often than Black patients and more than double the rate of Hispanic patients, based on US data from 2016 to 2022.
Palliative care increasing for patients with DLBCL, but racial disparities ‘striking’ — Healio