Illinois Governor JB Pritzker meets with Pope Leo XIV
Illinois Democratic Governor J. Robert “JB” Pritzker met with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, a native of the Land of Lincoln, at the Vatican this week. (Credit: Reuters – No use of Fox Weather/Outkick)
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Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday he was “deeply disappointed” after his home state of Illinois approved a law allowing medically assisted suicide.
Leo, who grew up in Chicago, said he spoke “frankly” with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker when the legislation was on his desk and urged him not to sign the bill, saying the measure undermines respect for human life “from beginning to end.”
“Unfortunately, for different reasons, he decided not to sign that bill,” Leo told reporters outside Rome. “I’m very disappointed about it.”
The Medical Aid in Dying Act, also known as “Debb’s Law”, was signed into law by Pritzker on December 12 and allows eligible terminally ill adult patients to receive life-ending medication after consultation with their doctors.
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Pope Leo XIV meets with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker during an audience at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, Vatican, on November 19. (Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
The measure was named after Deb Robertson, a lifelong Illinois resident suffering from a rare terminal disease who pushed for approval of the bill.
The law will take effect in September 2026, giving participating healthcare providers and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) time to implement the necessary procedures and protections.
Leo said Chicago Cardinal Blaise Cupich also urged Pritzker not to sign the bill, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
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Pope Leo XIV said he was “deeply disappointed” that Illinois passed a law allowing medically assisted suicide. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
Leo said, “I would invite all people, especially in these Christmas days, to contemplate the nature of human life, the goodness of human life.” “God became human like us to show us what it truly means to live a human life, and I hope and pray that respect for life will once again grow in all moments of human existence, from conception to natural death.”
The state’s six Catholic dioceses have also criticized Pritzker’s decision to sign the bill, saying it puts Illinois “on a dangerous and heartbreaking path.”
Illinois joins the growing list of states allowing medically assisted suicide. Eleven other states and the District of Columbia allow medically assisted suicide and seven more states are considering allowing it, according to the advocacy group Death with Dignity.
After signing the bill, Pritzker said the law would allow patients suffering from terminal illnesses to “avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives”, and said it would be “thoughtfully implemented” to guide physicians and patients through deeply personal decisions.
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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act on December 12, allowing eligible terminally ill adult patients to receive life-saving medications after consultation with their doctors. (Jacek Bozarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has contacted Pritzker’s office for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
