Illinois Catholic hospitals and religious healthcare workers can’t be penalized for refusing to inform terminally ill patients of assisted suicide options, a new court order ruled.
The Medical Aid in Dying bill, signed into law on Dec. 12, 2025, by Gov. JB Pritzker, allows terminally ill patients who meet specific qualifications to receive medication to end their lives. The bill went into effect on Sept. 12.
In the Oct. 5 temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge Franklin U. Valderrama barred the Department of Financial Professional Regulation and the Department of Public Health from enforcing the bill for the plaintiffs.
The order blocks enforcement until an appeals court has ruled on two ongoing lawsuits: National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Treto and Schroeder v. Treto.
The bill, dubbed “Deb’s Law,” honored Deb Robertson, a resident with a rare terminal illness who advocated a way for terminally ill patients to die with “dignity” on their own terms. The law makes it a felony to force anyone to request the medication. Adult patients requesting “end-of-life medication” must:
- Have a terminal illness, resulting in death within six months; this must be certified by two physicians.
- Be informed by their physician about all of their healthcare options.
- Have the mental capacity to make medical decisions.
- Make written and oral requests to receive medical aid-in-dying medication, among other requirements.
“The request can only be made by the patient, not by the patient’s surrogate decision-maker, health care proxy, health care agent, attorney-in-fact for healthcare, guardian, nor via advance care directive,” a release states.
Although the bill explicitly states that healthcare entities and professionals were not required to participate in offering life-ending medication, they would be required to inform patients of all their options, including medically assisted suicide.
“No health care entity shall prohibit a health care professional from … providing information regarding health care services available pursuant to this Act, information about relevant community resources, and how to access those resources for obtaining care of the patient’s choice,” the bill reads.