Payne v. Pritzker

At a Glance:

On August 24, 2026, Compassion Legal: The End-of-Life Justice Center at Compassion & Choices, along with our pro bono partners at WilmerHale, led by Ryan Chabot, filed a motion to intervene and asked the court to consider an opposition to the preliminary injunction on behalf of four Illinois residents and Compassion & Choices Action Network in a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the recently passed and signed Illinois End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (also known as ‘Deb’s Law’). The lawsuit,  Payne v. Pritzker, aims to prevent the law from taking effect. Deb’s Law remains on track to become effective for qualified Illinois residents on September 12, 2026. On September 2, the motion to intervene was denied. We are disappointed, and we are working on our next steps to ensure these advocates’ voices are part of the conversation. On September 4, attorneys from Compassion Legal and WilmerHale attended the hearing on the plaintiffs’ motion to intervene. Thankfully, on Sep 10, 2026 Judge Tharp denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, so this lawsuit will not impact the roll out of Deb’s Law.

The Details:

Payne v. Pritzker was filed on June 11, 2026 in federal district court in Illinois. The lawsuit is very similar to legal challenges to medical aid-in-dying laws in California, Colorado, Delaware, and New York. On August 24, 2026, four Illinois residents, with the assistance of Compassion Legal, filed a motion to intervene in Payne v. Pritzker in defense of Deb’s Law.

Our Intervenors are: 

• Deb Robertson (for whom Deb’s Law is named) is a former social worker living in Lombard, Illinois. Robertson retired from her over 30-year career spent advocating on behalf of homeless youth following a 2021 diagnosis of aggressive terminal high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma. Since then, she has been a vocal advocate for medical aid in dying in Illinois, meeting regularly with lawmakers while also pursuing treatment to slow the cancer’s progression along with clinical trials. She wants the option of medical aid in dying.
• Maureen Statland lives with permanent heart damage and a diagnosis of advanced congestive heart failure, which resulted in her living with a disability. She has dedicated her life to working with seniors and facilitating intergenerational relationships, as well as teaching young people at her synagogue and working as a hospice volunteer. Her experience as a hospice volunteer, as well as with her parents’ deaths, inspired her work to get Deb’s Law passed.  She wants the option of medical aid in dying should she ever need it.
• Sophie Meyn has lived with an incurable brain tumor for over ten years that has resulted in epilepsy, weakness and seizures on the right side of her body, and mobility issues. She loves living her life to the fullest alongside her daughter, hiking, reading, gardening, and being in the water. While she understands she is not currently eligible for medical aid in dying, she has said her incurable brain tumor means needing to be thoughtful and honest with herself about the reality of facing the end of her life earlier than she would like. If and when she becomes eligible for medical aid in dying under the Act, she wants to decide for herself whether to get the prescription. Sophie finds comfort in planning, and the availability of medical aid in dying allows her to organize her end-of-life experience in a way that brings her some peace and certainty.
• Brenda Boutte is a stage 4 thyroid and metastatic lung cancer survivor, fighting the disease since being diagnosed in 1996 and who now lives with the resultant disabilities from that fight. She became an advocate for medical aid in dying while living in Colorado, and is glad that she will have the option available to her in Illinois, where she spends time with her kids and grandkids. Brenda aims to get the most out of life whether it be fishing, hiking, riding her e-bike with her husband or gardening. The experience of losing her brother-in-law to complications from AIDS in the early 2000s influenced her belief that people should not have to fight so hard to make end of life decisions for themselves.
• Compassion & Choices Action Network, whose mission is to promote end-of-life autonomy, and to empower people to select care that honors their unique values and priorities regardless of race, religion, party affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity and age.

Payne v. Pritzker includes organizational plaintiffs from previously filed lawsuits including the anti-medical aid-in-dying group Institute for Patients’ Rights, Not Dead Yet, United Spinal Association and National Council on Independent Living.

Anti-medical aid-in-dying groups have been attacking state medical aid-in-dying policies in the courts since the late 1990s without success. Courts have consistently held that medical aid-in-dying laws do not discriminate on the basis of age or disability, and that the laws simply serve to increase end-of-life options for people who qualify. 

Since the 1997 implementation of the nation’s first medical aid-in-dying law — the Oregon Death with Dignity Act — medical aid in dying remains completely voluntary for patients and physicians alike in all authorized jurisdictions.