Mary Keen Kirchoff, M.D., et al. v. Treto, Jr.

The state of Illinois is telling doctors that caring for a severely ill or dying patient means offering to help end her life.

When the state's assisted suicide law takes effect on September 12, 2026 it will not merely permit the practice but will require physicians and faith-based care facilities that object to it to present lethal drugs to terminally ill patients as a benefit, and, when asked, send those patients to someone willing to help them die. Refusal to do so means risking the loss of a license or career and even exposure to civil and criminal penalty. For those who believe a physician exists to heal and to relieve suffering, never to hasten death, the state has left no path foward.

Thomas More Society represents four physicians in this case who have spent their careers caring for patients at their most vulnerable. The faith traditions that govern their practice forbid cooperating in assisted suicided in any form, including a referral. Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield is responsible for ensuring Catholic hospitals in his diocese honor that same commitment. Lutheran Care Center, a nursing home supported by twenty area churches,. has cared for the dying for decades on the conviction that every life retains its dignity to its final hour.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to block the state'smandate before it takes effect.