A federal judge today entered a limited temporary restraining order in a lawsuit filed August 11 against the State of Illinois to stop the implementation of its End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (also known as “Deb’s Law”). The temporary order allows Deb’s Law to take effect as planned on September 12, but exempts the six plaintiffs from any obligation to comply with the law while the lawsuit, Kirchoff et al. v Treto et al., is pending.
“Compassion & Choices is grateful that Deb’s Law will go into effect as planned, and Illinoisans who are terminally ill will not be forced to wait any longer for this additional end-of-life healthcare option. At the end of life, patients deserve truthful information, honest conversations with their doctors and the freedom to make their own lawful healthcare decisions,” said Kevin Díaz, president and CEO of Compassion & Choices. “Deb’s Law respects the conscience of healthcare professionals and institutions. No provider can ever be forced to write a prescription for medical aid in dying, and healthcare institutions may prohibit the practice by clinicians working on their behalf. But respect for conscience should not become permission to withhold accurate information, or obstruct a dying person’s timely access to care from a willing provider. We will continue working to protect fully informed, patient-directed care and the ability of terminally ill Illinoisans to make end-of-life decisions based on their own values, priorities and beliefs.”
Kirchoff et al. v Treto et al. was filed by the Thomas More Society on behalf of four Illinois physicians, a Catholic Bishop, and the Lutheran Care Center, alleging its implementation infringes on their 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.
Deb’s Law does not require any healthcare provider or institution to prescribe medical aid in dying, but physicians must inform the requesting individual about all of their end-of-life healthcare options, including comfort care, hospice, palliative care, and pain control, and refer their care elsewhere in a timely manner if they would like to pursue medical aid in dying. To qualify for access to a prescription, an individual must be a terminally ill adult with a prognosis of six months or less who is capable of making their own informed healthcare decisions.
The full text of the lawsuit is available here. The text of the temporary restraining order can be found here.
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