Chicago archbishop, Catholic nuns sue Illinois over assisted-suicide law

CHICAGO - Cardinal Blase Cupich, two orders of Catholic nuns and an Illinois pharmacist are suing the state over a new assisted-suicide law they say violates their religious beliefs.

Catholic groups sue Illinois over assisted suicide law

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court by the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Little Sisters of the Poor, Cupich and Luke Vander Bleek, a pharmacist and owner of Fitzgerald Pharmacy in Morrison.

The complaint asks the court to block Illinois’ End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act before it takes effect Saturday, Sept. 12.

According to a news release from Becket, the legal group representing the plaintiffs, the law requires health care providers who object to assisted suicide to tell patients about the option, help them qualify for lethal drugs and refer them to providers willing to participate.

The lawsuit also challenges provisions the plaintiffs say could punish religious caregivers for discouraging suicide or promoting their faith-based views.

Cardinal Blase Cupich

"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. We pray that the courts will protect our freedom to continue advocating and caring for the sick and dying as our faith demands."

Mother Mary Rose Heery

"Our residents come to us at one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Our vocation is to give witness to them, through everything we do, that their lives remain precious and that they will never be abandoned. Illinois cannot ask us to replace that promise with help ending their lives."

Mother Julie Marie

"The elderly people who come to our homes are looking for a place where they will be cherished and cared for until natural death. They should be free to choose that kind of care without having assisted suicide inserted into it by the state. We simply want to continue giving them the loving home they came to us for."

Pharmacist Luke Vander Bleek

"I became a pharmacist because I wanted to help people heal, never to hasten their deaths. 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."

Attorney Mark Rienzi

"The state should stop trying to make Catholic nuns help patients kill themselves. 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—regardless of whether they want it or not. Patients deserve the freedom to seek healing, hope, and accompaniment without the government forcing suicide into the conversation. The Constitution protects that freedom."

What's next:

The federal court will decide whether to block the law before it takes effect next weekend.

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