Illinois legislators have introduced a bill that would allow physicians to prescribe life-ending drugs to the terminally ill, making the state the latest to address assisted suicides.
The Illinois bill would make it legal for patients ages 18 and older who have been determined mentally capable and have a prognosis of six months or less to live to be prescribed medication that would end their lives.
If the bill passes, they must personally request the drug, be examined by a physician, and then get a second opinion from a different doctor.
Both doctors will then determine whether or not the patient is mentally capable of making the decision, and if they have concerns, they can request a mental health care professional evaluate the situation.
After completing the steps, patients can then have a prescription for the drug given to them, allowing them a safe and legal way to end their lives.
The bill does have its caveats, allowing physicians to refuse to prescribe the drug to patients, even if the procedure is followed correctly.
If Illinois passes the bill, the state would become the 11th to have medically assisted dying on the books, according to Axios.
State Sen. Linda Holmes told the media outlet that she decided to co-sponsor the bill after watching her parents die of cancer.
“When my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer … she was given less than six months to live,” Holmes tells Axios. “But I remember in those days sitting at the side of her bed, and she grabbed my arm, and she’s like, ‘Linda, don’t let them do anything.’”
In 2020, 5,329 patients died by “medical aid in dying,” according to a study from the Journal of American Geriatrics Society.
From 1998 to 2020, in states where medically assisted death is legal, 8,451 patients received prescriptions, the study noted. Altogether, 74% of those who died by “medical aid in dying” had a diagnosis of cancer, and the median age was 74.
This week, Holmes is expected to meet with legislators in Springfield to see where her colleagues stand on the proposed bill.