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CHICAGO, Ill. (WAND) – A federal judge has temporarily barred Illinois from enforcing parts of its assisted-suicide law against specified religious health care institutions and practitioners, according to the Thomas More Society, which filed the lawsuit.
The order covers members of several religious health care associations, including the Illinois Catholic Health Association. The society says that association’s programs represent more than 95% of Catholic health care institutions in Illinois.
The order also covers members of the Catholic Medical Association, Christian Medical & Dental Associations, National Association of Catholic Nurses and Catholic Psychotherapy Association, as well as other named parties.
The lawsuit challenges the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act that, the plaintiffs say, require health care professionals to tell patients about assisted suicide, refer patients to willing providers, avoid information the state deems misinformation and record deaths from lethal prescriptions as caused by the underlying illness.
“Three weeks ago, Illinois was poised to force doctors, nurses and Catholic hospitals to choose between their consciences and their licenses,” said Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation at the Thomas More Society. “This order lifts that threat for nearly every Catholic health care institution in the state and for the members of the state’s largest Catholic and Christian medical associations. We will keep fighting until that protection is permanent.”
The stipulated amended temporary restraining order replaces an Aug. 21 order that covered only the original plaintiffs. It remains in effect until the court rules on the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction.