A note from the CEO: Another state medical aid-in-dying bill heads to a governor’s desk — this time in Illinois

By Kevin Díaz, President & CEO

In the early morning of October 31, 2025, the Illinois legislature passed The End of Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, also known as “Deb’s Law,” authorizing medical aid in dying for qualified terminally ill residents of Illinois. 

This historic victory is the culmination of years of laying the groundwork in Illinois: real people sharing their stories, a chorus of advocates calling on their legislators for change, and a coalition of strategic partners coming together to put pressure on Springfield to make this compassionate end-of-life care option available in the nation’s sixth-most populous state. 

Anatomy of a victory

Since 2018, Compassion & Choices has worked closely with the ACLU of Illinois and Final Options Illinois to push this legislation forward, creating the Illinois End of Life Options Coalition. Our teams hosted hundreds of campaign events, crafted bill language in conversation with stakeholders throughout Illinois, and lobbied lawmakers while sheltered in place in the basement of the state capitol during a tornado. Since 2020, constituents sent over 15,000 emails and calls to legislators across the state. 

Advocates also made headlines with their powerful stories. Nilsa Centeno and Suzy Flack shared their contrasting experiences as mothers whose sons suffered from aggressive cancers. Nilsa’s son, Miguel Carrasquillo, who had moved to Chicago to become a chef, died of a brain tumor at the age of 35 without the option of medical aid in dying that he desperately wanted and advocated for. 

Suzy’s son, Andrew Flack, died gently surrounded by loved ones in California using medical aid in dying, an option he had championed as a plaintiff for Compassion & Choices and on his podcast. 

Carrying on Miguel and Andrew’s legacies, Nilsa and Suzy’s testimonies moved lawmakers when they were read on the Illinois House floor in the 2025 legislative session. 

The bill’s official short name — “Deb’s Law” — honors another tireless advocate, Deb Robertson. A former social worker who ran programs to help young people experiencing homelessness, Deb was diagnosed with a rare aggressive cancer in January 2022. 

As Deb told Compassion & Choices in September 2022, after her diagnosis, she “took some time off work and I started to think about what I wanted to do with my life, because I knew that my time was limited. I did research on medical aid in dying and I thought, ‘This is what I want to be advocating for. This is what I’ve felt the need for over the last 40-something years.’”

From there, it was full steam ahead for Deb, who has lobbied vigorously for medical aid-in-dying legislation, joined Compassion & Choices LGBTQ+ Leadership Council, and appeared on the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times and in many other publications. 

Now Deb is calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker to sign the legislation into law.

Our commitment to progress, together

I’m proud of the work we’ve done in Illinois because it exemplifies the spirit of collaboration, tenacity and grassroots efforts so integral to expanding end-of-life options nationwide. 

Together, we are fostering a movement built on collective action and courageous storytelling.

And our work is not done: We are on the ground making certain that the governor understands the urgency of signing this bill into law on behalf of our terminally ill advocates. Once the bill becomes law, our work begins in earnest, ensuring that everyone across the state understands their right to the full range of end-of-life care, and that clinicians understand how to support their patients in accessing it.

Meanwhile, we reflect on what we can learn from our work in Illinois, celebrate how far we’ve come, and prepare for what’s next. 

Thank you for all you do to empower everyone to choose end-of-life care that reflects their values, priorities, and beliefs.

To learn more about our efforts to pass and protect medical aid-in-dying laws nationwide, click here.