The Illinois State Senate passed a bill legalizing assisted suicide in a surprise early-morning vote Friday, amending an unrelated measure on food sanitation to include the controversial provision, according to a statement from an advocacy group opposing the legislation.
The House passed SB 1950 in the spring, so the bill now goes to Governor Pritzker.
The Patients Rights Action Fund said the Senate approved SB 1950 by a 30-27 margin, with two lawmakers not voting. The group described the action as a “surprise move in the early hours of Friday morning,” warning that it “introduces significant risks to vulnerable populations across the state, including individuals with serious illnesses, disabilities, and those facing financial hardship.”
“Legalizing assisted suicide disguised as a sanitation bill undermines long-standing efforts in suicide prevention and could dangerously shift the standard of care in health care facilities,” the statement said.
The patient group called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to veto the bill and urged lawmakers to focus on alternatives such as “expanding access to mental health services, hospice care, and palliative support.”
URGENT: Call Gov. Pritzker at (217) 782-0244 NOW and demand he VETO SB 1950 to stop assisted suicide from endangering Illinois’ vulnerable!
“Every patient deserves compassionate care and a full spectrum of options to live with dignity,” the statement added. “The passage of SB 1950 introducing the use of lethal drugs in Illinois compromises that fundamental right.”
The move comes months after a similar effort to legalize assisted suicide in Illinois stalled earlier this year. In June, assisted suicide proponents also attached the language to an unrelated food safety bill, which narrowly passed the House but failed to advance in the Senate before the legislative session adjourned.
Barbara Lyons, special projects coordinator for the Patients’ Rights Action Fund, said at the time that opposition efforts had prevented a Senate vote, but warned that supporters would likely try again.
“Diligent dedicated work was put in for years to defeat the bill by a very strong and large coalition of Illinois organizations and individuals. Focus now turns to convince the Governor that he must veto this dangerous bill which will put vulnerable Illinoisians at risk. Our work doesn’t end here, and all our voices will be needed to prevent further movement. When these bills do pass, they are by the slimmest of margins; if you haven’t been involved before, now is the time,” she explained.
If signed into law, Illinois would join a handful of states allowing assisted suicide, a practice pro-life advocates say provides dignity for terminally ill patients while opponents argue it endangers vulnerable groups and erodes suicide prevention norms.
