Catholic Nuns Sue Illinois: Controversial End-of-Life Law Slammed for ‘Pushing’ Patients Toward Suicide

Catholic religious sisters in Illinois have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state's new End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, arguing that provisions they say require objecting health care providers to inform and refer patients for medical aid in dying violate their religious beliefs.

The lawsuit, filed on 3 September 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, comes days before the law is scheduled to take effect on 12 September.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs include Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago; the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm; several Little Sisters of the Poor entities; and Luke Vander Bleek, a Catholic pharmacist and owner of Fitzgerald Pharmacy in Morrison, Illinois.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law on 12 December 2025, after the General Assembly passed it in October. The measure, also known as Deb's Law, allows eligible terminally ill adults to request prescription medication that they may self-administer to end their lives, subject to eligibility criteria and procedural safeguards.

Plaintiffs and Legal Representation

The case is being brought by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty on behalf of a coalition of Catholic plaintiffs.

In addition to Cardinal Cupich, the suit names the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm and their affiliated residence, St Patrick's Residence; multiple Little Sisters of the Poor entities in the Chicago Province, including homes in Chicago and Palatine; and Luke Vander Bleek, a Catholic pharmacist, and his business, Morr-Fitz Inc., doing business as Fitzgerald Pharmacy, according to the complaint.

Mark Rienzi, president of Becket, said in a statement, 'The state should stop trying to make Catholic nuns help patients kill themselves.' He added that Illinois was 'forcing every sick and dying person within its borders to hear its message of suicide at their lowest moment regardless of whether they want it or not.'

Illinois officials have not yet publicly responded to those characterisations.

Defendants and Procedural Posture

According to the complaint, three state officials are named as defendants: Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Terry Prince, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Sameer Vohra and Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Secretary Mario Treto Jr. The case, styled Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm v. Prince, has been assigned case number 1:2026cv10665 in the Northern District of Illinois.

The Illinois officials named as defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Core Legal Dispute: Information and Referral Requirements

At the heart of the dispute is the plaintiffs' claim that the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (EOLOA) compels religious caregivers to participate in assisted suicide against their conscience.

The plaintiffs argue that the law requires objecting providers to inform patients about the option and, in certain circumstances, to refer them to providers willing to evaluate or provide aid-in-dying care, steps they say amount to material cooperation in suicide.

The statute is described as stating that a health care professional may choose not to engage in aid-in-dying care and that only willing professionals may provide such care.

However, it also contains provisions that, according to the plaintiffs, require an unwilling provider or entity to inform the patient of its unwillingness and refer the patient to another provider or entity, subject to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act. That referral and information requirement is the central legal flashpoint in the case.

'It is awful for Illinois to be forcing every sick and dying person within its borders to hear its message of suicide at their lowest moment,' Rienzi said. Patients, he argued, 'deserve the freedom to seek healing, hope, and accompaniment without the government forcing suicide into the conversation.'

Catholic Teaching and Care for the Dying

The Catholic Church opposes euthanasia and assisted suicide. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes direct euthanasia as morally unacceptable.

The plaintiffs argue that the Illinois law conflicts with those beliefs by exposing objecting providers to potential legal and professional consequences if they refuse to comply with its information and referral requirements.

'Our residents come to us at one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives,' said Mother Mary Rose Heery, prioress general of the Carmelite Sisters. 'Our vocation is to give witness to them, through everything we do, that their lives remain precious and that they will never be abandoned.'

Mother Julie Marie Horseman, provincial of the Little Sisters of the Poor's Chicago Province, echoed that sentiment. 'The elderly people who come to our homes are looking for a place where they will be cherished and cared for until natural death,' she said.

'They should be free to choose that kind of care without having assisted suicide inserted into it by the state.'

Vander Bleek said he entered the profession 'to help people heal, never to hasten their deaths.' Referring to prescriptions authorised under the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, he added, 'But now Illinois wants my pharmacy to dispense prescriptions for suicide in violation of my Catholic beliefs. The state shouldn't force me to choose between serving my neighbors and following my conscience.'

Cardinal Cupich said in a statement, 'The Gospel calls us to uphold the inviolable dignity and worth of the human person, from life's first moment to its natural end.' 'As Catholics, we oppose efforts to undermine human dignity by pushing our brothers and sisters toward suicide.'

Relief Sought and Related Litigation

The plaintiffs seek declarations that the law violates the First Amendment, along with temporary and permanent injunctions blocking enforcement against them. The suit also raises claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Affordable Care Act and other federal provisions, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit is one of several legal challenges to the law. In June, an Illinois physician, two disabled residents and advocacy groups filed a separate federal lawsuit arguing that the law discriminates against people with disabilities and lacks adequate safeguards and oversight, according to their complaint.

In a related case in August, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order shielding certain Catholic and Lutheran providers from some referral requirements while litigation proceeds.

The allegations in the lawsuit have not been adjudicated, and the defendants have not yet had an opportunity to respond in court.

The case could have implications for other disputes over religious-liberty protections and medical-aid-in-dying laws in other states, depending on how the court rules. The law is scheduled to take effect on 12 September, unless a court intervenes.

Originally published on IBTimes UK