In December 2025, Governor JB Pritzker signed the “End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act”, also known as “Deb’s Law”. With Deb’s Law, Illinois becomes the first state in the Midwest to authorize medical aid in dying and joins California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington in having such a statute. The Act does not take effect until mid-September 2026.
The “aid in dying” authorized by the Act is an end-of-life care option to obtain a prescription for medication that will bring about a peaceful death. To qualify under the Act, a patient must generally:
- Be 18 years of age or older;
- Be a resident of Illinois;
- Have a documented, incurable and irreversible terminal disease that, within the reasonable medical judgment of two qualified physicians, will result in death within six months;
- Have the mental capacity to make and communicate an informed decision to request the medication after being fully informed by two physicians;
- Have the ability to obtain and self-administer the medication; and
- Satisfy the other requirements of the Act, including the specific forms and timing of requests, waiting periods and documentation.
The Act provides a form of the “Request for Medication to End My Life in a Peaceful Manner” that would need to be signed by a qualified patient, and attested by two witnesses, one of whom must meet certain criteria, such as not being a relative, beneficiary, health care provider or employee, or interpreter. Only the patient can submit the requests required under the Act, not the patient’s surrogate decision-maker, health care proxy or agent, attorney-in-fact for health care, or guardian. Further, the requests cannot be made by advance health care directive.
The Act specifies that no health care provider (a professional or facility) is under any duty, by law or contract, to participate in the provision of aid-in-dying care and that a health care provider may choose not to engage in such care. The Act also specifies attending physician responsibilities, consulting physician responsibilities, and responsibilities for a provider that is unable or unwilling to carry out a patient’s request for aid-in-dying. Thus, regardless of whether a provider chooses to participate or not, the provider should understand the requirements and protections available under the Act.
A health care entity – defined broadly to include, among others, a hospital, hospital affiliate, nursing home, hospice, ambulatory surgical center, and certain home health providers – is permitted under the Act to prohibit its health care professionals, staff, employees, or independent contractors, from practicing aid-in-dying care while performing duties for the entity, but only if certain requirements are timely satisfied. For example, the entity must provide advance notice in writing at the time of hiring, contracting with, or privileging and on a yearly basis thereafter. The Act also sets forth certain standards with respect to a prohibiting health care entity’s policies related to aid-in-dying care.
If you are a physician, licensed mental health care professional, hospital, home health provider or other health care entity in Illinois, you should understand the applicable requirements of the Act. If you are a religious organization that desires to prohibit employees and contractors from practicing aid-in-dying care, you must ensure that notice is given in the manner and timeframes specified in the Act and that your supporting policies comply with the Act. If you are a physician who expects protection from criminal or civil liability under the Act for practicing aid-in-dying care, you must ensure that you obtain the appropriate consents that meet statutorily-prescribed form and timing requirements, have proper documentation under the Act, and satisfy the reporting requirements with respect to such practices.
If you have questions about your obligations or protections under the Act, including how to communicate with employees, staff, patients, or the public regarding the provision or prohibition of medical aid-in-dying, please reach out to one of the authors listed above or a member of Lewis Rice's Health Care Practice Group.
