What we know
What we know: She lived to see ‘Deb’s law’ take effect. Now she can choose how she dies
Compiled Sep 23
What we know
- Deb Robertson became a public advocate for Illinois' medical aid-in-dying law after being diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer.
- Illinois' 'Deb's law' took effect on Sept. 12, making it the first Midwestern state and 13th state (plus D.C.) to authorize medically assisted death.
- Ebony Payne, a disability advocate, was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the law, arguing it discriminates against people with disabilities.
- Pope Leo XIV urged Gov. JB Pritzker not to sign the bill and later said he was 'very disappointed' it passed.
- Peter Redgrove, 85, used California's assisted-dying law to end his life after 19 rounds of chemotherapy for bone marrow cancer and leukemia.
- Oregon was the first U.S. state to pass a medical aid-in-dying law, taking effect in 1997.
What we don’t know yet
- A judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction in Payne's lawsuit, ruling she had not proved standing or imminent harm.
- Payne said she hopes the law will be 'taken off the books,' indicating the legal challenge's outcome remains unresolved.
- A judge temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the law on Catholic groups that challenged it in a separate lawsuit.
Open questions
- Will the disability advocates' lawsuit against Deb's law eventually succeed in overturning it?
- How will the Catholic groups' separate legal challenge over religious exemptions be resolved?
- Will other Midwestern states follow Illinois in legalizing medical aid in dying?
- What specific safeguards does Deb's law include to prevent misuse or coercion?
Drawn from the Associated Press report. “What we don’t know” lists only what the reporting itself flags as unresolved.