The Illinois End-of-Life Options Coalition and advocates across the state are gearing up in full force to advocate for the End-of-Life Options Act.
“We are grateful that lawmakers are listening to the majority of Illinoisans who support this compassionate bill that would give terminally ill adults the option to die peacefully without unnecessary suffering," said Callie Riley, regional advocacy director for Compassion & Choices. “Dying Illinoisans do not have time to wait for another legislative session. We urge legislators to pass the End-of-Life Options Act as soon as possible, so dying adults in Illinois are not forced to suffer or move to another state to die peacefully.”
Recent polling shows that 7 out of 10 likely voters in Illinois (71%) want the legislature to pass medical aid-in-dying legislation. More than 6 out of 10 Illinois physicians (62%) would personally want the option of medical aid in dying if they become terminally ill, while only 1 out of 5 (20%) would not want it.
The bill is especially important to Deb Robertson, a retired social worker with an extremely rare and aggressive cancer. “I’ve done everything I can to cure my cancer, including enduring multiple cycles of chemotherapy. But the bottom line is, I’m already dying,” she said. Medical aid in dying “would allow me to die peacefully. It would allow my wife and family to say goodbye, and to know that it’s okay to let go.”
Suzy Flack understands firsthand the impact of authorizing medical aid-in-dying laws. Her only son, Drew, a special education teacher and avid hockey player, spent the last months of his life advocating for medical aid in dying in Illinois, his home state. Drew had moved from Illinois to California before he became ill, so he was able to use California’s End of Life Option Act. He died on Nov. 16, 2022, at just 34 years old. Before he died, Drew recorded a video for Compassion & Choices and discussed his support for medical aid in dying on his blog and podcast.
“Andrew died peacefully because of the option of medical aid in dying in California, where he lived,” Suzy said. “I am comforted by this, but I wish my son could have had that option here in Illinois.”
Photos courtesy of Kristan Lieb and Andrew Flack
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