Why I'm sponsoring legislation for medical aid in dying

Nothing ever made me feel more helpless than watching my parents die in agony from cancer despite having the best medical care available.

At a young age, I witnessed my father dying in pain from lung cancer and suffering terribly. More recently, my mom contracted pancreatic cancer, and I had her medical power of attorney.

A couple of weeks before she passed, I was sitting on the edge of her bed. She grabbed my arm and begged me to make sure her health care providers didn’t do any medical interventions to keep her alive, like resuscitation, that would prolong her suffering.

This nightmare experience seared this unforgettable thought into my head: No one should have to die with that much pain.

That is why I am the proud lead sponsor of the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act. I recently introduced this legislation that would allow medical aid in dying as an end-of-life care option for mentally capable, terminally ill adults in Illinois, with six months or less to live, to gently end unbearable suffering. It is 100% voluntary for terminally ill people, physicians and pharmacists.

More than 7 of 10 Illinois likely voters (71%) support passing medical aid-in-dying legislation, according to a 2023 Impact Research poll. This majority support spans the demographic, political, racial and religious spectrums, including 73% of voters with a disability, 83% of Latino voters, 69% of Catholic voters and half of Republican voters. In contrast, fewer than 1 in 5 Illinois voters (17%) oppose medical aid in dying.

Safeguards against coercion

The Illinois bill is modeled on medical aid in dying in 10 other states and Washington, D.C. Oregon first implemented this medical practice more than 25 years ago.

Our bill has more than a dozen requirements to prevent abuse and coercion, especially of vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities. The legislation’s safeguards are especially important to me since I have lived with a disability for 35 years: multiple sclerosis.

I care deeply that our health care systems and insurance companies do not discriminate against people with disabilities or who can otherwise be discounted. This legislation ensures there would be no abuse or coercion by physicians, family members or other interested parties.

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These multiple safeguards explain why 6 out of 10 Illinois physicians (62%) personally would want the option of medical aid in dying if they become terminally ill, while only one 1 of 5 (20%) would not want it, according to a 2021 Medscape/WedMD poll. There is ample proof these safeguards work.

In fact, there has not been one substantiated case of abuse or coercion in the 25 years since medical aid in dying first became available in Oregon. The Illinois State Medical Society dropped its opposition to medical aid in dying last year.

A 2019 University of Pittsburgh School of Law report concluded the experience in the numerous states and Washington, D.C., where medical aid in dying is allowed, “puts to rest most of the arguments that opponents of authorization [of medical aid in dying] have made — or at least those that can be settled by empirical data. The most relevant data — namely, those relating to the traditional and more contemporary concerns that opponents of legalization have expressed — do not support and, in fact, dispel the concerns of opponents.”

Medical aid-in-dying legislation has led to improvements in hospice care in California, Oregon and Hawaii. The use of hospice services has increased in those states. Research shows the vast majority of people who opt for medical aid in dying are already enrolled in hospice. They decide to stop treating their disease because it is incurable.

I only wish my mother and father had the option of medical aid in dying so they didn’t have to suffer needlessly when death was already at their doorstep. To honor their memory, I want to ensure all Illinoisans have the option to decide for themselves when they have suffered enough at the end of life so they can die peacefully, at home, surrounded by their loved ones.

For these reasons, I hope all of my colleagues will join me in supporting this compassionate legislation.

Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) represents the 42nd District and is assistant majority leader in the Illinois Senate.

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