After narrowly passing in the Illinois House in late May, we thank God that the physician-assisted suicide bill (SB 1950 Amendment 2) has stalled in the Illinois Senate, at least for now. Deceptively titled the “End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act,” this dangerous measure could be brought to a vote at any time during the upcoming Veto Session (October 28–30) or picked back up during the regular session next year (January–May).
As if state-sanctioned suicide was not alarming enough, the bill contains another deeply troubling—and deceptive—provision: the allowance of false death certificates. If enacted, this legislation would permit physicians to list the cause of death as the patient’s underlying illness rather than the deliberate act of assisted suicide, likely a violation of federal law.[i] It would also allow doctors who sign these death certificates to be absent at the actual suicide, effectively enabling them to become parties to potential fraud, all under the color of law.[ii]
Corruption of Government Records: Death certificates are foundational data sources used by the Social Security Administration, IRS, DEA, CDC, and other federal agencies for public health and national security purposes. Tampering with this information undermines not only the integrity of state recordkeeping but also the accuracy of critical federal data systems.
The Oregon model for physician-assisted suicide already sets a troubling precedent by listing “natural causes” rather than suicide as the cause of death.[iii] This practice obscures the truth, manipulates public health data, and hides the societal cost of assisted suicide from legal and public scrutiny. If Illinois adopts this approach, it will further erode transparency and hinder efforts by researchers, health officials, and government agencies to track suicide-related data. With eleven states now permitting physician-assisted suicide, an estimated 22% of U.S. death certificates may already contain misleading information.
Corruption of Medical Ethics: Equally concerning is the corruption of medical ethics that this legislation would encourage. SB 1950 effectively invites doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers to violate their oath to do no harm plus falsify death certificates—forcing many to violate their conscience or professional integrity. If health institutions condone or require such practices, physicians may face grave moral dilemmas: whether to obey their conscience or comply with state-sanctioned deception. Assisted suicide not only cheapens human life but also blurs the moral lines that have long protected patients from abuse and coercion.
The following short video features the Illinois General Assembly’s “Doctor in the House,” State Representative William Hauter (R-Morton), who provides helpful insights:
Relevant U.S. Federal Law: Altering death certificates could very likely be seen as a federal offense according to the following statutes:
- Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law (18 U.S.C. § 242)
- Conspiracy Against Rights (18 U.S.C. § 241)
- Fraud and False Statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001)
Before they open Pandora’s Box, the members of the Illinois General Assembly should thoughtfully and intentionally compare the aforementioned U.S. Federal Laws to the language in SB 1950, specifically Section 90:
Section 90. Death Certificates.
(a) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, the attending physician may sign the death certificate of a qualified patient who obtained and self-administered prescription for medication pursuant to this act.
(b) When a death has occurred in accordance with the Act, the death shall be attributed to the underlying terminal disease.
(1) Death following self-administering medication under this Act does not alone constitute grounds for postmortem inquiry.
(2) Death in accordance with this Act shall not be designated a suicide or homicide.
(c) A qualified patient’s act of self-administering medication prescribed pursuant to this Act shall not be indicated on the death certificate.
Please pray that God would stop this agenda from moving forward in Illinois. In late May I recorded a short video prayer that you can access here. Ask God to change the hearts and minds of state senators who support or are unsure about this bill. Pray that this dangerous agenda remains stalled in the Senate—and ultimately defeated.
If you haven’t yet contacted your state senator, please do so today by clicking the “Take Action” button below and urging them to oppose this dangerous bill. If you’ve already reached out, contact them again to remind them that Illinois must not normalize suicide.
Take ACTION: Click HERE to email your state senator to ask him or her to vote NO.
Footnotes:
[i] Ref. Document Fraud, 8 USC §1324; Mail Fraud, 18 USC §1341; Scheme and Artifice to Defraud, 18 USC §1346, and similar.
[ii] Ibid. Ref.: “In both states [Oregon, Washington], this physician is almost never present when the drugs are ingested, so cannot know whether the patient was seriously ill, competent, or acting voluntarily then. But he or she can sign the death certificate, which lists death by natural causes.
[iii] USCCB. Assisted Suicide Laws in Oregon and Washington: What Safeguards? Executive Summary. USCCB. https://www.usccb.org/resources/assisted-suicide-laws-oregon-and-washington-what-safeguards Accessed August 12, 2025.
Source: Letter to Illinois General Assembly. October 22, 2025 by Kathleen Quasey.
