The Dirksen Federal Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Article Summary
- A federal judge on Friday heard arguments over whether he should block the Sept. 12 implementation of Illinois’ End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, or EOLA.
- The law, also referred to as “medical aid in dying” or “assisted suicide” by those on opposing sides of the fight over EOLA, allows terminally ill adults in Illinois to seek lethal medication if they meet certain criteria, including a prognosis of less than six months to live.
- But those who opposed EOLA in the legislative process, including religious groups and disability rights advocates, have taken their fight to court.
- Disability rights groups allege the law is discriminatory against disabled people, who they argue are more susceptible to physician bias and therefore coercion to end their own lives.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
CHICAGO — Illinois is set to become the first Midwestern state to allow terminally ill adults to take life-ending medication prescribed by physicians when the law goes into effect late this week.
But a federal judge is weighing whether to block the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, or EOLA, from its Sept. 12 operative date after hearing arguments Friday in a lawsuit that alleges EOLA discriminates against people with disabilities. The suit also claims the law runs afoul of federal law including the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Affordable Care Act…