After years of hard work, passion, and the tireless dedication of terminally ill advocates, the Illinois End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (also known as “Deb’s Law”) took effect Saturday, making the state the first in the Midwest to authorize the option of medical aid in dying. The new law grants qualifying adult residents who are terminally ill with a prognosis of six months or less the option to request medication from their doctor that they can choose to self-ingest to end life on their own terms.
Compassion & Choices, the nation’s largest advocacy organization dedicated to improving care, expanding options, and protecting individual rights at the end of life, celebrates this moment while reminding supporters that this is not the movement’s finish line.
“Today is a day to celebrate. Deb’s Law gives terminally ill Illinoisans another meaningful end-of-life care option and puts more control where it belongs: with the dying person,” said Kevin Díaz, president and CEO of Compassion & Choices. “Now the work is to make sure people can actually use the law when they need it, and that every Illinois family has clear information, compassionate care and the full range of end-of-life healthcare options. We’re deeply grateful to the advocates, volunteers, lawmakers and partners who made this possible.”
Compassion & Choices advocated for the passage of Deb’s Law as part of the Illinois End-of-Life Options Coalition alongside ACLU of Illinois and Final Options Illinois.
Deb’s Law is named in honor of advocate Deb Robertson, a former social worker living with an aggressive case of neuroendocrine carcinoma in Lombard, Ill.
“Today is a day I have long been counting down for: the day that the state of Illinois rightfully grants me and other terminally ill Illinoisans the autonomy to make our own end-of-life decisions,” said Robertson. “I am so honored and grateful for the legacy I will leave through the existence of my namesake Deb’s Law. The availability of medical aid in dying in my home state grants me the gift of presence in the life I am very much still living.”
Deb Robertson and her Wife Kate
Robertson began advocating in support of medical aid in dying in 2022 and quickly became a fixture in the movement, participating heavily in media interviews and legislative hearings. Robertson is also an LGBTQ+ Leadership Council member for Compassion & Choices, and was named their Allyne Hammer Excellence in Advocacy Award recipient in 2024.
Illinois is now the 14th U.S. jurisdiction to authorize medical aid in dying, joining California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawai’i, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington, D.C. Nearly one in three (32.8%) Americans now live in a jurisdiction where medical aid in dying is authorized.
To learn more about medical aid in dying in Illinois, and for free resources for both patients and providers, please visit compassionandchoices.org/illinois. Supporters in Illinois and across the nation can find information on how to get involved in the end-of-life healthcare movement with Compassion & Choices at compassionandchoices.org/volunteer.
About Compassion & Choices/Compassion & Choices Action Network:
Compassion & Choices improves care and expands options at life’s end. Compassion & Choices (501(c)(3)) educates, empowers, defends, and advocates. For more information, visit CompasssionAndChoices.org
Mail contributions directly to:
Compassion & Choices Gift Processing Center
PO Box 485
Etna, NH 03750
Compassion & Choices is a 501 C3 organization. Federal tax number: 84-1328829
