Illinois becomes first Midwest state to legalize assisted suicide

On Friday, December 12th, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed an assisted suicide bill into law, making Illinois the first state in the Midwest to legalize assisted suicide. The bill allows assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live. 

This is devastating news for those with disabilities, the elderly, and those vulnerable to coercion and abuse.

Here is what Wisconsinites need to know:

1.) Legalized assisted suicide never remains contained. Canada, California, Vermont, Colorado, New Jersey and other states that legalized assisted suicide have tried or succeeded in removing many of the so-called “safeguards.”

2.) The law will likely affect other states surrounding Illinois. One of the first safeguards dropped is the residency requirements, meaning that someday Wisconsin residents could obtain these lethal drugs from Illinois. 

3.) We must remain vigilant about attempts to legalize assisted suicide here in Wisconsin. There have been numerous attempts in the last decades to legalize assisted suicide in the Badger State. While we have been successful in blocking this harmful legislation thus far, Friday’s development in Illinois proves we cannot be complacent.

The cruel reality of assisted suicide is that it targets those who most need care and compassion. Assisted suicide is not medical treatment; it is state-sanctioned medical discrimination, withholding suicide prevention from the most vulnerable among us.

This personal note from Heather Weininger, WRTL’s Executive Director, illustrates the far-reaching harm of assisted suicide. 

Years ago, I struggled with anorexia and severe depression. In my darkest moment, I told my sister I wanted my life to be over.

Thankfully, she called my parents, and they showed up the very next day to get me help.

I didn’t need to die – I needed care and people willing to fight for my life when I couldn’t.

Because of treatment, support, and time, I recovered. I am living proof that anorexia is not a death sentence – and that mental illness can distort judgment in ways that make assisted suicide especially dangerous.

Time and time again, states that legalize assisted suicide expand it further, stripping away so-called “safeguards.”

In Colorado, where assisted suicide has been legal since 2016, two patients were prescribed assisted suicide drugs for their anorexia.

Instead of treatment, these patients were offered death.

This is why Illinois’s assisted suicide law so alarming.

​​As I shared in a 2024 coalition press conference at the Illinois State Capitol:

“I would have gladly sought out physician-assisted suicide had it been available back in the mid-1990s.”

“Legalizing assisted suicide puts those with mental illnesses at risk of death, and assisted suicide is always further expanded rather than increasing support for people living with health issues.”

​​​​​This is not just an Illinois issue. And it is not limited to anorexia.

It affects every person vulnerable to discrimination and neglect in our medical system.

It is so common for residency requirements to be dropped from assisted suicide laws over time – putting Wisconsin and other neighboring states at risk. 

The cruel reality of assisted suicide is that it targets those who most need care and compassion.

We must remain vigilant here in Wisconsin to defend human dignity at every age and stage.