The last day of the regular session for the Illinois General Assembly is May 31st! This means that we have less than two weeks to petition our state lawmakers and tell them to VOTE NO on pro-suicide legislation.

Physician-assisted suicide invites abuse and creates a slippery slope toward devaluing life. Devaluing life for some means devaluing life for all. It is never necessary and always ends a unique and valuable human life.

To help encourage people of faith to be salt and light on this issue, we have created a bulletin insert.

Pastors & Church Leaders: Please prayerfully consider making the bulletin insert available to church attendees at services this week and on Sunday.

Pro-life Advocates: Please ask your church leaders if you can pass out copies of this bulletin insert to others in the church this week.

Call to Action Bulletin Insert

Background

Christians believe in the inherent worth of every human life because each person is created in the image of God. This value is not contingent on an individual’s perceived autonomy, contribution to society, or physical or mental capacity; it is rooted in the fundamental truth of Scripture, which teaches that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139).

This principle holds true for all, including those requiring extensive medical care due to age or illness. Therefore, the introduction of assisted suicide carries profound implications for how society values all individuals, potentially leading to far-reaching negative consequences, particularly for the elderly and the disabled.

Illinois state law should never normalize a policy that asserts some lives are less worthy than others. Many individuals with disabilities or terminal conditions actively oppose changes to the law. They often experience the devaluing assumption that they would be “better off” dead—or never having been born. Legalizing assisted suicide would reinforce this harmful perception, suggesting to some of society’s most vulnerable members that they are indeed worth less than others in the eyes of the law. This could profoundly impact how both disabled individuals view their own worth and how the wider community regards them.

If you have not yet taken action to oppose assisted suicide, now is the time.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to email both your state senator and state representative. Remind them that the medical community opposes aiding and abetting the death of a patient. Respectfully tell your state senator that Illinois should never legalize, sanction, or normalize suicide. Public policy should seek to improve healthcare and protect the vulnerable, not commend death.

The New York State Assembly recently passed legislation that would “amend the public health law, in relation to a terminally ill patient’s request for and use of medication for medical aid in dying.” The agenda to promote a culture of death is being pushed in various other states as well, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, condemned this bill in an op/ed saying it’s “a disaster waiting to happen.”

Slippery Slope

Illinois law must not affirm the idea that some lives are disposable. Once legalized, we believe it will lead to broader eligibility criteria, including cases involving chronic illness or psychiatric conditions, rather than just terminal illness. There is evidence for this. Wherever assisted suicide or euthanasia is introduced, the volume of cases rises over time. Consider:

• In the Netherlands, there has been a more than fourfold increase in reported cases of euthanasia and assisted suicide (1,882 in 2002 to 9,068 in 2023. By 2024, this number had increased to 9,958, marking a 10% rise in a single year).

• In Canada, the number of annual deaths under the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) law has risen by over 350% since its first full year of operation in 2017. In 2023, Canada saw a record high of medically assisted deaths, with more than 15,000 people receiving medical assistance in dying, representing a 15.8% increase from 2022. This figure accounted for 4.7% of all deaths in Canada, compared to 4.1% the previous year.

• In Belgium, reported euthanasia cases have almost doubled in ten years, from 1,807 in 2013 to 3,423 in 2023.

We hope you and the members of your church find this material helpful. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact the IFI office at (708) 781-9328.