Illinois is facing a crossroads with the introduction of SB9 and HB1328 – bills that would legalize physician-assisted suicide under the guise of "compassion." But this legislation is not compassionate. It is dangerous. It sends the chilling message that some lives – especially the lives of the elderly, people with disabilities, and the terminally ill – are no longer worth living.
As a society, we must reject the notion that one’s value is determined by physical ability, age, or ability to "contribute" in a conventional way. The idea that a person must meet a certain threshold of usefulness or independence to be considered worthy of life is not only discriminatory, it is profoundly immoral. Every human being has inherent dignity, from the moment of conception to natural death. This is not only a biblical truth – it is a moral foundation that underpins a just and compassionate society.
Unfortunately, in states where assisted suicide is already legal, data confirms our worst fears: people are not primarily choosing death because of unrelenting pain. According to the Oregon Health Authority’s 2023 report, the top reasons patients cited for requesting lethal drugs were "losing autonomy," "less able to engage in enjoyable activities," and "loss of dignity." Pain or fear of pain did not even make the top five. In other words, people are choosing assisted suicide because of disability-related fears and perceived burdens, not unbearable physical suffering.
What kind of message are we sending to people with disabilities when we endorse a law that validates those fears instead of addressing them with compassionate care and support? We risk reinforcing a devastating belief: that if you are dependent on others, your life is less valuable.
Worse yet, legalizing assisted suicide creates perverse incentives for insurance companies and government healthcare systems. There are already documented cases of patients in states like California and Oregon being denied coverage for life-extending treatments, only to be offered coverage for lethal drugs instead – because it is cheaper. No one should ever be put in a position where ending their life is the "economically sensible" option.
We must also not underestimate the coercive pressures that vulnerable individuals face – from families, medical systems, or society itself – that subtly suggest they are a burden. In times of increased despair or depression, this pressure can be deadly. Once assisted suicide is seen as a "solution," the right to die quickly becomes a duty to die for those who feel like an inconvenience.
We cannot build a truly moral or just society on the back of laws that devalue life at its most fragile stages. A pro-life culture doesn't abandon people when they are most in need; or when they are most vulnerable – in the womb or in a hospital room. A pro-life culture embraces them, affirms their worth, and walks with them through suffering with compassion, care, and the truth that their lives are ordained by God and only He can number our days. That is the heart of real love. That is the foundation of true dignity.
Illinois must say no to SB9 and HB1328 and contend for life. We must stand with those whose lives are too often dismissed. We must protect the vulnerable. And we must build a culture that values every life – not just the strong, the healthy, or the productive – but every life, always.
Psalm 139 says:
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Editor's Note: This article was posted first HERE on American Family News website.)
