Lawsuits filed in New York and Illinois claim that religiously affiliated healthcare facilities and providers are being forced to participate in medical aid in dying. Plaintiffs have asked that medical aid-in-dying laws in New York and Illinois be declared unconstitutional.
Let’s be clear: both laws protect healthcare workers’ right to follow their own conscience. No provider or facility is required to write a prescription for medical aid in dying. Hospitals and other healthcare institutions can also choose to ban their staff from writing these prescriptions or to prohibit ingestion of the prescription on their premises.
While federal judges in both Illinois and New York granted limited and narrow temporary restraining orders which exempt plaintiffs from any obligation to comply with the laws while the lawsuits are pending, they allowed the laws in both New York and Illinois to take effect as planned.
Here is where each case stands currently:
Filed August 11, 2026 in federal district court in Illinois, the lawsuit alleges that implementation of Deb’s Law infringes on Plaintiffs’ freedom of speech by unlawfully requiring or pressuring religiously and morally opposed healthcare professionals and institutions to participate in, facilitate, or promote medical aid in dying as an end-of-life healthcare option.
On August 21, a federal judge entered a limited temporary restraining order that exempts the six plaintiffs from any obligation to comply with the law while the lawsuit is pending. Plaintiffs recently sought to amend their complaint to include several more plaintiffs, attempting to expand the scope of this preliminary injunction.
We are closely engaged with this case and will provide updates on developments as they occur. Read more on Kirchoff v. Treto here.
Filed September 3, 2026 in federal district court in Illinois, the lawsuit echoes the claims made in Kirchoff with different plaintiffs.
In both Carmelite Sisters and Kirchoff, the plaintiffs and the Illinois Attorney General agreed to a limited and narrow temporary injunction that only applies to the plaintiffs.
We are closely engaged with this case and will provide updates on developments as they occur. Read more on Carmelite Sisters v. Prince here.
Filed June 11, 2026 in federal district court in Illinois, the lawsuit aimed to prevent Deb’s Law from taking effect on Sept. 12 by claiming that medical aid in dying discriminates against people who are disabled.
Federal Judge John Tharp denied Plaintiffs’ request for a temporary injunction and Deb’s Law went into effect Sept. 12.
In August, Compassion Legal and our pro bono partners at WilmerHale filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of four Illinois residents and asked the court to consider opposition to the temporary injunction request.
While our motion to intervene was unfortunately denied, we are working on our next steps to ensure these advocates’ voices are part of the conversation.
Read more on Payne v. Pritzker here,
Also filed June 11, 2026, in federal district court in New York, the lawsuit echoed discrimination claims filed in California, Colorado, Delaware, and Illinois (Payne).
These cases are part of a broad national strategy to disrupt and dismantle medical aid-in-dying laws by mischaracterizing how they work and who is eligible to use them.
On July 31, 2026, the lawsuit was dismissed in full. The dismissal meant the court did not need to decide whether to formally add six New Yorkers represented by Compassion Legal and pro bono counsel WilmerHale who raised their voices to intervene on behalf of terminally ill New Yorkers and all New Yorkers who support individual autonomy and access to comprehensive, fully-informed, patient-directed end-of-life healthcare.
Read more on BCID v. Hochul here.
Filed July 17, 2026 in federal district court in New York, the lawsuit echoes religious discrimination claims made in the two pending Illinois-based cases described above.
As in the Illinois cases, the New York Attorney General’s Office and the Plaintiffs have agreed to a temporary injunction that applies only to the plaintiff groups that filed the lawsuit.
While New York’s law went into effect as planned on August 5, those who access care via Catholic hospital systems are unlikely to receive information about medical aid in dying and will have even more difficulty accessing the full range of end-of-life care options.
We are closely engaged with this case and will provide updates on developments as they occur. Read more on Carmelite Sisters v. James here.
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
