Catholic nuns in Illinois filed a federal lawsuit against state officials on Thursday seeking to block provisions of the state’s new assisted-suicide law before it takes effect Sept. 12.
The plaintiffs, including the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Little Sisters of the Poor and Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, allege in the 93-page complaint that the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act violates their religious rights by requiring health-care providers to inform and counsel terminally ill patients about assisted suicide and, in some circumstances, document their requests and refer them to providers willing to participate.
The lawsuit also names Luke Vander Bleek, a Catholic pharmacist and owner of Fitzgerald Pharmacy in Morrison, Ill. The plaintiffs argue that the law requires pharmacists who object to assisted suicide to refer patients to willing pharmacists.
The law allows mentally capable adults with an incurable, irreversible disease expected to result in death within six months to request medication they can self-administer to end their lives. An attending physician must determine eligibility, and a second physician must confirm the diagnosis and the patient’s mental capacity.
The complaint asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to issue temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctions shielding the plaintiffs from the participation and referral requirements. It also challenges provisions that the plaintiffs say could expose health-care providers to civil or criminal liability for discouraging patients from using assisted suicide.
The lawsuit, filed by Becket, a religious-liberty law firm, names Terry Prince, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs; Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health; and Mario Treto Jr., secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, as defendants.
“Our residents come to us at one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives,” stated Mother Mary Rose Heery, prioress general of the Carmelite Sisters. “Illinois cannot ask us to replace that promise with help ending their lives.”
