The Illinois State Senate recently passed a bill that legalizes assisted suicide, what advocates of the practice now characterize as “medical aid in dying” (MAID). Should Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker sign the legislation into law, the state will be the 13th jurisdiction in the U.S. to legalize assisted suicide. The bill permits Illinois residents, given a terminal diagnosis of less than six months to live from a terminal illness, to request a lethal dose of drugs to self-administer in order to end their lives.
Proponents of the bill argue that allowing terminally ill patients the right to choose their time of death gives them control, dignity, and alleviates their suffering. Opponents warn of a slippery slope that could lead to normalizing suicide and creating a society that views the elderly and infirm as burdensome.
Of the jurisdictions that have already legalized some form of MAID (eleven states and the District of Columbia), several have already seen amendments that lifted earlier restrictions. These amendments include eliminating state residency requirements, reducing informed consent requirements, and shortening mandatory waiting periods of reflection.
These amendments are not anomalies but rather a pattern, according to the Rev. Canon Georgette Forney, director of Anglicans for Life, a Pro-Life para-church ministry that advocates for end-of-life care.
In countries including Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium, MAID legislation has become increasingly permissive. The Netherlands now allows for minors as young as twelve to ask for MAID; Belgium allows MAID for the mentally ill. Canada has passed, although delayed the implementation of, a bill that would similarly allow those with mental illness, such as depression, to ask for assisted suicide.
When asked how the potential passing of the Illinois bill would affect the landscape for MAID in the U.S., Forney was not optimistic. She pointed out that the bill is officially titled the Sanitary Food Preparation bill, despite later amendments that gutted all mention of food sanitation and replaced it with assisted suicide legislation. She sees this as misleading, an attempt to pass what otherwise would not be supported by the public. Forney expects to see more states attempt to advance MAID legislation, in addition to Illinois and New York.
(Readers who wish to contact the Governor of Illinois may do so here.)
The Christian Ethics of MAID
Proponents of MAID legislation claim that such procedures are compassionate, alleviating the suffering of the sick and allowing the terminally ill to die with dignity. Christian teaching calls for having compassion on one’s neighbor. How do these policies correspond with Christian ethics? Is MAID something Christians can support?
According to Forney, no.
“In the Christian ethic, we accept any life however it is delivered to us,” the Anglican ministry leader says. Choosing one’s time of death is “playing God.” To those claiming that MAID gives back dignity to those who have lost it, Forney rebuts, “Life has dignity, period.”
The Catholic Conference of Illinois agrees. Their statement warns that the bill “jeopardizes the well-being of the poor and marginalized,” especially that of the disabled. The consequences of such legislation are apparent in countries such as Iceland, which claims to have nearly eradicated Down syndrome from its population. In actuality, expectant parents choose to abort nearly all unborn babies testing positive for the condition. Canada now has multiple reports of offering assisted suicide to disabled veterans rather than providing them with medical care.
Further, acceptance of euthanasia and assisted suicide policies devalues life overall.
“If ending a life at the beginning of life and at the end of life is no big deal, ending it at any part of life is no big deal,” Forney explains. Life and death are linked; failing to value one means not valuing the other, either.
For those whose pain is severe, such as those having received a terminal diagnosis, is hastening death wrong? Those who have had terminally ill friends and family members know how awful it is to see loved ones in pain.
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago, addresses such concerns in his statement. “I speak to this topic…as one who has seen a parent die from a debilitating illness,” Cupich writes. Rather than ending his life early, his father was “cherished” until his natural death. Cupich views this as a better alternative and encourages the government of Illinois to explore better options for palliative care.
To those considering some form of MAID, Forney exhorts them to think about what their final moments will communicate. “What kind of legacy does this leave behind?” she asks, continuing, “What message are you sending to the world?”
Additionally, Cupich warns of the dangers of normalizing suicide. Consideration of suicide, medically assisted or not, can spiral and become a pit difficult to climb out of. Citing the rising suicide rates in the U.S., especially among young people, he views the passage of MAID legislation as “normaliz[ing] suicide as a solution to life’s challenges.” Further, he cites the risk of “suicide contagion” from a study done by the NIH. The study’s findings state that “A factor that has been identified in the precipitation of a suicide attempt or completed act is the suicide of another.”
For those facing unavoidable death – whether to war, disease, or old age – Forney calls Christians to step up and speak about our beliefs with boldness. Christianity has a message about death that surpasses that of all other beliefs, both secular and religious. The Gospel offers us eternal, joyful life where we live in unity with our Creator and the rest of creation. In order to combat this culture of death, we need to speak about our life in Christ.
Forney recommends reading and preaching from 1 Corinthians 15. The Apostle Paul argues for the resurrection of the dead, ending with the famous words, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
Death also needs to stop being a taboo subject, especially among Christians. For those approaching the end of their life naturally, Forney encourages talking with them about how they would like their final moments to look. Where do they want to be? Who do they want to be with? Would they like certain music playing or to be wearing certain clothes? Death is a natural part of life in this world. And as Christians, we have no need to be afraid of it.
As Forney says, “Death presents an opportunity to live the gospel, preach the gospel, and help people embrace the gospel.”
More from IRD:
The Growing Danger of Assisted Suicide
Comment by David on December 3, 2025 at 8:30 am
Job 7:9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so one who goes down to the grave does not return. He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.
Comment by Glenn Wheeler on December 3, 2025 at 10:19 am
I totally agree that normalizing suicide is a dangerous road to go down. However, modern medicine often leaves people in such a state that suicide is their only way out.
You get a disease. You have all the treatments modern medicine has in its arsenal. And then, when all that is exhausted, your life has been extended way beyond what would have naturally occured, but it’s not really living, it’s being suspended in a state somewhere between life and death. And you could very well continue in that state for a long time.
So what do we expect people to do? Lie in a bed for years in misery, not being able to live but not being able to die, either?
Modern medicine has made an idol out of extending life, even extending it far beyond any kind of quality of life. And American Christianity has given modern medicine quasi-ecclestical status, being duped into believing modern medicine is a continuation of the healing ministry of Jesus. (Funny though, I don’t recall Jesus ever becoming a multi-millionaire from healing people.)
The fact is that modern medicine often puts people in the position where suicide is their only way out. We need to address that issue before we start issuing blanket condemnations of suicide.
Comment by Mark on December 3, 2025 at 10:47 am
I think this commentary would benefit from hearing from the voice of someone who is actually considering assisted suicide. It feels like everyone is trying to speak for a community, but not giving them an actual voice. Most of us who are still young and fit can’t imagine what it’s like to go through every hour of everyday in unending pain. Those of us who still have our good long and short-term memory can’t imagine the stress of constantly forgetting things and being aware that we’re losing our minds, but powerless to do anything about it. Those of us who can still drive, walk, and enjoy our independence can’t fathom what’s like to be permanently bedridden and dependent on others for everything. I’m not saying any of this to justify euthansia. To be honest, I still don’t know where I stand entirely on this issue and I agree there are a lot of concerns that need to be weighed, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the individual and what this means for them. Much as I respect Rev. Forney’s position, I think the last thing people suffering terminal illness should worry about is the message their death will send to the world. If nothing else we should at least give them the same hearing we give all the activists and religious leaders on both sides who have never been in this situation.
Comment by Wilson R. on December 3, 2025 at 1:56 pm
However unpleasant it may be to admit, the reality is that caring for someone with a debilitating illness—say, dementia or physical incapacitation—IS a burden. We shouldn’t pretend otherwise. I’ve done work in the field of providing resources for caregivers (spouses, adult children), and the statistics show that caregivers are more likely to die before the person for whom they’re providing care. That’s how great the burden is.
I agree with Glenn Wheeler that “normalizing suicide is a dangerous road.” At the same time, I don’t want to be a burden to my wife or my children. I had knee replacement surgery earlier this year, and I saw how much of a burden it was for my wife to wait on me during my recovery, pick up the tasks that I normally do around the house, and then manage her own work and household responsibilities. I can’t imagine how much harder it would be for someone who was completely debilitated.
Comment by Qohelet on December 3, 2025 at 6:25 pm
I appreciate all of the thoughtful comments above. The only thing I’d add is that this is another situation, like the abortion debate, where we could do more good by focusing on what we all agree on rather than where we disagree. If we don’t want sick people to be seen as burdens, then surely we can come together and pass a strong family and medical leave act? Raise the pay of in home care workers and make sure everyone has the coverage they need to hire them? Fund meals on wheels and senior transportation and meaningful social activities?
Comment by David on December 3, 2025 at 7:52 pm
Both of my parents suffered a great deal in their last year of life. I am not certain they would have wanted to end their lives sooner, but that choice should have been available to them. In the end, my father pulled out his feeding tube and starved to death while in two weeks in a nursing home. We took that as his choice and refused to have it replaced. A friend who had fallen and broken his neck with total paralysis shortly lost also the ability to swallow in the hospital. He elected to the feeding tube removed and likewise died. At least in the state where I live, patients have the right to refuse medical treatments as part of a patients’ bill of rights.
Comment by Glenn Wheeler on December 3, 2025 at 7:58 pm
I recommend the book, “Die Wise” by Stephen Jenkinson.
Comment by Dan W on December 3, 2025 at 11:50 pm
An advance directive is designed to guide your long-term and end of life care. Through an AD, you can refuse any or all medical interventions. Every state in the U.S. allows you to set up an AD. MAID laws seem to encourage someone to check out early. You already have the right to die.
According to Google, in the Netherlands children must go to school until the age of 16. 12 year old’s can’t drop out of school, but they can choose MAID.
Comment by Glenn Wheeler on December 4, 2025 at 12:37 am
The problem in the United States is that doctors very often completely ignore advance directives. Unless you have a POA who will fight like a bulldog for you, the doctors will do with you as they see fit, your advance directive notwithstanding. I’ve seen it more times than I can remember. Once you get into the system, you completely lose control over what happens to you.
Comment by Different Steve on December 5, 2025 at 7:56 am
“I’m from the government and I’m here to help,” “Sounds like a great idea! With the best of intentions! What could possibly go wrong?”
Comment by Mark on December 5, 2025 at 2:02 pm
Different Steve,
“I’m from the insurance agency and I’m here to help.”
Comment by Different Steve on December 5, 2025 at 3:50 pm
The commenter’s substitution of “insurance agency” for “government” in Ronald Reagan’s famous quote—”The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help”—misses the original’s core critique of coercive state bureaucracy. Reagan popularized the line in a 1986 radio address to highlight federal overreach, a sentiment rooted in earlier anti-government jokes from the 1970s. Swapping in a private entity like an insurance agency dilutes the point, as insurers operate voluntarily in a market, not with mandatory taxes or regulations, making the alteration feel disconnected from concerns about unchecked public power.
Comment by Glenn Wheeler on December 6, 2025 at 12:50 am
Yeah, blame it all on the insurance companies. That’s what the narrative put out by the medical industry wants you to do.
Comment by Mark on December 6, 2025 at 3:41 pm
Different Steve,
My point being that for many Americans today so-called free market isn’t delivering on the promises of figures like Reagan when it comes to health care.
Comment by Mark on December 7, 2025 at 4:47 pm
Different Steve,
I know you’re afraid that this is step toward death panels, and it’s an understandable fear. What I’m trying to tell you is that for millions of Americans the panels are already here. They’re just staffed by insurance claim adjusters rather than government bureaucrats. Actually, a growing number of them aren’t staffed by humans at all. Instead the claims are being handled by AI bots. Putting potential life and death decisions in the hands of AI. What could go wrong?