Advocates, patients file lawsuit to block ‘medical aid in dying’ law in
Illinois
[June 17, 2026]
By Jenna Schweikert and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)
A federal lawsuit filed last week seeks to block an Illinois law
allowing doctors to help terminally ill patients end their own lives
ahead of its Sept. 12 effective date.
The complaint, brought by medical advocacy groups, an Illinois-based
physician and two disabled Illinoisans, claims the law discriminates
against people with disabilities and lacks significant safeguards or
oversight, violating due process and equal protection.
The End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, or EOLA, will
allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to a terminal patient if
they meet certain qualifications and make two oral requests at least
five days apart. The law was passed in October 2025 and signed by the
governor in December.
One of the plaintiffs is Ebony Payne, a Chicagoan who is quadriplegic.
Payne was one of the opponents to the bill prior to its passage and has
continued to advocate against it.
“For people with disabilities overall, I don’t think it’s a safe bet,
because just like me, anybody could have an infection and fall prey to
doctors who are not as scrupulous as others,” Payne said, referring to
an infection she had that led her to tell her doctor she “didn’t want to
live anymore.”
In that instance, her mother obtained power of attorney and could make
medical decisions for Payne when she was unable to. Under the law,
doctors are not required to notify family of the patient’s decision and
there is no appeals process. But patients must be of sound mind and have
a prognosis of less than six months to make an eligible request. Nobody
else, even with power of attorney, would be able to make the decision
for them.
“Many, many people who can’t or don’t have these opportunities to speak
up for themselves … hopefully I do a well enough job to help their voice
be heard, especially in situations like this,” Payne said.
Oral requests for aid in dying must be accompanied by a written report
signed by two witnesses, at least one of which is not an employee of the
health facility or a relative or estate beneficiary of the patient. But
if a doctor believes the patient has less than five days to live, they
can approve an emergency prescription.
A lawsuit was also filed in New York, joining three previous cases in
California, Colorado and Delaware. Currently, 13 states and the District
of Columbia have laws permitting aid in dying. Illinois is the first
Midwestern state to legalize the practice.
Illinois’ law is similar to other states, with the basics being copied
from Oregon, the first state to legalize the practice.
Discrimination claims
The lawsuit is centered around the claim that EOLA discriminates against
people with disabilities by singling out disabled people for aid in
dying and not providing them with sufficient protections against abuse
of the practice.
“The perception that Ebony is suffering every day, that she is better
off dead, is discrimination,” attorney Michael Bien said. “The idea that
we can categorize people and say certain people should be eligible for
suicide and other people are not is discrimination.”
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Advocates and patients announced lawsuits against “medical aid in
dying” legislation at a news conference in New York. (Photo provided
by the Patients Rights Action Fund)
Doctors must weigh coercion and mental status before they prescribe the
medication. And the law says no person is considered a qualified patient
solely because of age, disability or mental health condition. But with
federal healthcare cuts putting more people under pressure, Bien
questioned if this is an environment in which the law should go into
effect.
During debates last spring, advocates from other states, including
Oregon, said there has been no evidence of discriminatory use of the
procedure.
“Each law authorizing medical aid in dying states clearly and
unequivocally that disability alone does not automatically qualify or
disqualify someone for access to this healthcare option,” Veronica
Darling, director of litigation with healthcare advocacy group
Compassion & Choices, said in a statement. “These laws are not about
discrimination, they are about compassion, dignity, and respecting the
healthcare choices of terminally ill adults when it matters most.”
Oversight and safeguards
In addition to singling out people with disabilities, the lawsuit claims
that they are at extra risk because of “toothless” guidelines and lack
of independent oversight, taking “the power of death from the sovereign
state and (giving) it to private actors.”
After a request and before writing a prescription, the physician must
evaluate the patient’s diagnosis, mental capacity and potential coercion
and refer to a consulting physician for approval. A full mental health
examination is only required if the attending doctor believes the
patient isn’t stable.
Once written, the prescription can be filled and taken at any time the
patient chooses.
“What if you become mentally unstable? … There’s nothing at all involved
with the actual moment,” Bien said.
The doctor must provide the patient with sufficient information
regarding “all appropriate end-of-life care options,” and the risks and
benefits of each, so the patient can make a “voluntary and affirmative
decision” regarding their end-of-life care.
The lawsuit also claims the law overrides the interests of doctors to
govern the ethical practices of their own profession, though EOLA does
give physicians the right to choose whether to participate in
aid-in-dying without consequence. Doctors are also exempt from civil or
criminal liability and professional consequences for prescribing
medication or not doing so.
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