A federal judge in Illinois granted a temporary reprieve to Cardinal Blase Cupich, two orders of nuns, and a pharmacist one day before the state’s new assisted suicide law took effect, shielding them from its mandates while their lawsuit proceeds.
Judge Franklin Valderrama issued a stipulated temporary restraining order on September 11, blocking the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation from compelling the plaintiffs to participate in assisted suicide. The order also bars those agencies from treating noncompliance as grounds for fines, discipline, or licensure action.
The underlying federal lawsuit, Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm v. Prince, was filed September 3 by Cardinal Cupich, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and pharmacist Luke Vander Bleek. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is representing the plaintiffs, who argue the law violates their religious freedom. Judge Valderrama has not yet ruled on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction.
What the Law Requires
Illinois’ End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, known as Deb’s Law, took effect September 12. Under its terms, healthcare providers who object to assisted suicide must nonetheless inform patients of the option, assist them in qualifying for lethal drugs, and refer them to providers willing to dispense those drugs. Pharmacists are required to fill such prescriptions regardless of personal or religious belief. Providers who refuse face significant fines and penalties.
Mother Mary Rose Heery, O. Carm., said the restraining order “brings real peace of mind to our Sisters, our residents, and their families.” Mark Rienzi, president of Becket, called the law “a more blatant attack on religious freedom than forcing Catholic nuns to help people commit suicide.”
A Parallel Case and a Disability Rights Challenge
Judge Valderrama had already issued a similar temporary restraining order on August 21 in a related suit brought by Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, several Illinois physicians, and a Lutheran nursing home, represented by the Thomas More Society. Additional healthcare entities joined that suit in September; the new organizational plaintiffs together represent more than 95 percent of Catholic health institutions in Illinois. More than 13,000 healthcare professionals nationwide have registered objections to the law’s conscience mandates.
A separate lawsuit filed by disability rights advocates, who argue the law discriminates against people with disabilities, did not fare as well. A federal judge denied their motion to block the law on September 10.
Cardinal Cupich has said the Church’s goal is to protect conscience rights, not to impose its beliefs on others. A prior ruling in a related case similarly shielded the Chicago Archdiocese from the law’s requirements as litigation continues.