By Catholics for Catholics
“Pope Leo XIV’s message of hope, compassion, unity, and peace resonates with Illinoisans of all faiths and traditions,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker wrote just a few weeks ago after meeting with the Chicago-born pope at the Vatican. Now Pritzker has selected December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to sign an assisted suicide bill into law.
Against the objections of disability rights groups and religious leaders, Governor Pritzker is signing SB 1950, or the “End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act,” into law. The bill legalizes assisted suicide and allows patients to self-administer life-ending medication with the review of two physicians and two witnesses. In the Senate, which voted 30-27 to pass the bill, every “yes” vote came from a Democrat and eight Democrats joined the remaining 19 Republicans to vote against the measure.
It was an honor for MK and me to meet with @Pontifex – a son of Illinois – to express the pride and reverence of the people of this great state. Pope Leo XIV’s message of hope, compassion, unity, and peace resonates with Illinoisans of all faiths and traditions. pic.twitter.com/C4Y5NYtKxD
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) November 19, 2025
Governor Pritzker’s recent photo-op with the Holy Father appears to some in Illinois as an intentional tactic to take advantage of Pope Leo XIV and garner Catholic support in the state, only to turn around and enact a law fundamentally in opposition to Catholic doctrine.
Chicago-based Catholic and pro-life advocate Mary H. FioRito chimed in on X, writing, “After @Pontifex received @GovPritzker in a lengthy private meeting, Pritzker said they discussed shared concerns about ‘vulnerable people.’ Now Pritzker’s making Assisted Suicide legal In Illinois. And, adding insult to injury, he’s doing it on Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day.”
In October, the Catholic Conference of Illinois released a statement condemning the bill, saying “the Illinois General Assembly has put our state on a slippery path that jeopardizes the well-being of the poor and marginalized” and asked Governor Pritzker to “not only to veto this bill in totality, but also to address humanely the reasons why some view assisted suicide as their only option” and “expand and improve on palliative care programs that offer expert assessment and management of pain and other symptoms.”
“It defies common sense for our state to enact a 9-8-8 suicide hotline, increase funding for suicide prevention programs and then pass a law that, based on the experience of other jurisdictions, results in more suicide,” the statement reads.
John Yep, President of Catholics For Catholics says, “It is an insult and tragedy that on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is known as the ‘Protector of Life,’ and on the heels of a papal visit, Governor Pritzker has signed a pro-death measure into law that assaults the dignity of life and will only result in harm.”
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