National Right to Life Condemns Illinois Senate Passage of Dangerous Assisted Suicide Bill

Strategic Insights -

The Illinois State Senate has passed a bill to legalize assisted suicide, sparking outrage from National Right to Life, a pro-life organization. Despite concerns about the measure's impact on vulnerable individuals, the bill passed through a procedural maneuver that gutted a food safety bill and replaced it with assisted suicide language. The bill now heads to Governor J.B. Pritzker for consideration, with National Right to Life President Carol Tobias urging him to veto the bill and support true compassionate care for those facing serious illness.

Key Takeaways:

  • National Right to Life condemned the Illinois Senate's passage of Senate Bill 1950, a measure to legalize assisted suicide, which passed by a narrow margin of 30 to 27, with two senators not voting.
  • The bill, which was advanced through a procedural maneuver, would allow assisted suicide for individuals with terminal illnesses or those who are elderly or have disabilities.
  • Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, stated that "Assisted suicide is not compassion--it's abandonment," and that Illinois residents deserve laws that protect vulnerable people, not ones that pressure them toward an early death.
  • Tobias also pointed out that when states legalize assisted suicide, safeguards quickly erode, and the so-called "right to die" becomes a duty to die.
  • The bill has been criticized for its impact on vulnerable individuals and its lack of safeguards to prevent abuse.
  • The National Right to Life Committee, founded in 1968, is the nation's oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization.

Statistics:

  • The measure passed by a narrow margin of 30 to 27, with two senators not voting.
  • The bill now heads to Governor J.B. Pritzker for consideration.
  • The National Right to Life Committee has been fighting against assisted suicide legislation in Illinois for several years.

Sources:

  • National Right to Life, "National Right to Life Condemns Illinois Senate Passage of Dangerous Assisted Suicide Bill"
  • National Right to Life Committee, founded in 1968