A law set to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Illinois come September is being challenged by disability-rights advocates and organizations in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois.
Ernest Galvan, a lawyer representing the group in their lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Health and its director, told The Center Square the group is challenging the law for its lack of compliance with the U.S. Constitution and Americans with Disabilities Act.
He also noted that the law doesn’t provide much oversight or review by the state for those in the medical field that administer life-ending medications.
In the specific requirements of the law, a release from Pritzker’s office detailed that a patient can only qualify if two doctors agree that they have a terminal illness, giving them less than six months to live.
A patient must also have the mental faculties and understanding to choose the assisted-suicide option, which they can only pick after being informed of all other options, such as hospice and palliative care.
The legal challenge is still pending, and the defendants representing the state are in the process of being served, according to Galvan.
Story from Illinois Radio Network
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