Illinois officials have agreed to a federal court order temporarily preventing the state from enforcing portions of its new assisted suicide law against Catholic plaintiffs while their lawsuit challenging the measure proceeds.
The Sept. 11 order protects the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, two orders of Catholic nuns and an Illinois pharmacist from penalties tied to provisions of the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act and parts of the Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
The temporary restraining order was approved by U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama of the Northern District of Illinois. The state consented to the arrangement while the litigation continues.
The Catholic plaintiffs argue that the laws conflict with their religious convictions about the sanctity of human life. Their lawsuit challenges provisions requiring healthcare providers to inform terminally ill patients about “the foreseeable risks and benefits” of end-of-life options, including assisted suicide.
The plaintiffs also object to requirements that providers with religious objections refer patients elsewhere and refrain from interfering with a “qualified patient” who seeks to obtain or self-administer aid-in-dying medication.
Their lawsuit alleges violations of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and protections against compelled speech, as well as the Church Autonomy Doctrine and rights of speech and assembly.
The complaint also raises claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Affordable Care Act, Article II of the U.S. Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The plaintiffs are asking the court to block enforcement of the challenged provisions, declare them unconstitutional and award damages and attorneys’ fees.
The lawsuit further contests portions of the Health Care Right of Conscience Act requiring healthcare facilities to “ensure that conscience-based objections do not cause impairment of patients’ health” and to “inform a patient of the patient’s condition, prognosis, legal treatment options, and risks and benefits of the treatment options in a timely manner.”
Plaintiff Luke Vander Bleek, owner of Fitzgerald Pharmacy in Morrison, Illinois, said the court agreement allows him to continue serving his community without violating his religious convictions. “This agreement means I can keep doing exactly that when the new law takes effect, without being forced to fill prescriptions for suicide drugs,” Vander Bleek said.
Mark Rienzi, president of Becket, which represents the plaintiffs, described the challenged requirements as a “blatant attack on religious freedom” and said the law would force Catholic religious sisters to “help people commit suicide.”
“We look forward to ending this mandate for good and protecting the right of patients to spend their final days with those who will offer them compassionate, life-affirming care,” Rienzi said.
