Adobe Stock
The Illinois Senate adjourned May 31 without calling for a vote on a bill to legalize assisted suicide in the state, bringing the legislation’s momentum to a firm halt shortly after the state House of Representatives passed it.
On June 1, Illinois Family Institute Executive Director David Smith issued a statement hailing the efforts of Illinois citizens who prayed and contacted their state legislators to express opposition to the radical bill, SB 1950. He said those efforts made a difference in the outcome.
However, the spectre of the proposal remains — proponents will try to advance the measure again in the future, Smith continued.
“So, we’ll remain vigilant,” he said. “We must double down on our efforts to win hearts and minds to the sanctity of human life — from the womb to the tomb. But today, we thank God for the opportunity to fight another day!”
The Illinois House of Representatives narrowly passed the bill May 29, in a move that was met with pushback the next day from Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago.
“I have to ask why,” Cardinal Cupich said, “in a time when growing understanding of the deteriorating mental health of the U.S. population — and particularly among our youth — caused the country to create the 988 mental health crisis line, we would want to take this step to normalize suicide as a solution to life’s challenges.”
Suicide rates increase after assisted suicide is legalized, the cardinal wrote, emphasizing that young people, especially, are at higher risk of committing suicide if they have witnessed or personally been affected by a suicide.
Proponents of assisted suicide often argue that it allows people with terminal diagnoses to die with dignity and control over their deaths, and to end their suffering. In numerous instances, Catholic leaders who have voiced opposition to pro-assisted suicide legislation often urge investing in palliative care resources and support instead of helping vulnerable people kill themselves.
Cardinal Cupich shared in his statement that he is speaking out on this issue in part because of the loss of his father, who was supported by palliative care and love in his final days.
“I speak to this topic not only as a religious leader but also as one who has seen a parent die from a debilitating illness,” Cardinal Cupich said. “My father was kept comfortable and was cherished until his natural death. Catholic teaching supports such palliative care so long as the goal is not to end life. There is a way to both honor the dignity of human life and provide compassionate care to those experiencing life-ending illness. Surely the Illinois legislature should explore those options before making suicide one of the avenues available to the ill and distressed.”
In February, Illinois Catholic dioceses and Illinois Right to Life undertook efforts to oppose the legislation. The Diocese of Rockford invited the faithful to pray a novena for the defeat of the bill and to file written or oral witness slips expressing opposition to it.
When the same senate bill had been introduced in the 2024 legislative session, the Catholic bishops of Illinois opposed it and urged true compassion for those who are suffering instead of removing “the suffering person from our midst.”
“Often, a terminally ill patient faces the great suffering of being alone or the guilt of feeling burdensome to loved ones,” the bishops explained on their FAQ webpage about the issue. “This person’s dignity as a child of God and fellow member of the human family should be affirmed, and we should be willing to truly be compassionate, willing to suffer with and support one another in these most difficult moments. Very often, when a suffering person’s pain can be managed and when their spiritual and emotional struggles are acknowledged, their fear of death and desire to hasten their death subsides.”
