Pope Leo urged Illinois Gov. Pritzker to veto assisted suicide bill

On December 12, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill to legalize assisted suicide in the state. Now, Pope Leo XIV has said that when he met with Pritzker in November, he had urged the governor, who is Jewish, not to sign it.

Key Takeaways:

• On November 19, Pope Leo met with Gov. Pritzker, telling him it is important to defend life.

• On December 12, Pritzker signed the assisted suicide bill SB 1950 into law, making Illinois the 12th state to legalize doctor assisted death.

• The bill, which was added as an amendment to an unrelated food safety bill, passed in the dead of night on October 31, and allows adults who are labeled as terminally ill with six months or less to live to end their lives with the help of a doctor.

• The law will take effect in September 2026.

The Details:

The Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported this week that the pope told reporters, specifically EWTN News' Rudolf Gehrig, on Tuesday that when he met with Prtizker in November, he urged him not to sign the pro-death legislation.

"I spoke very explicitly with Gov. Pritzker about that," Pope Leo explained. "But we [Cardinal Blase Cupich] were very clear about the necessity to respect the sacredness of life from the very beginning to the very end. And unfortunately, for different reasons, he decided to sign that bill. Very disappointed about that."

He added, "I would invite all people, especially in this Christmas feast days, to reflect upon the nature of human life, the goodness of human life. God became human like us to show us what it means really to live human life. And I hope and pray that the respect for life will once again grow in all moments of human existence, from conception to natural death."

Why it Matters:

While assisted suicide proponents claim that physician assisted death is compassionate and empowering for those who have just months left to live and want to avoid suffering, history exposes the truth.

Nearly every jurisdiction that has legalized assisted suicide or euthanasia has later expanded the laws to remove many of the safeguards. California legislators passed a bill to speed up the process of assisted suicide. Oregon approved a bill waiving the waiting period for some individuals and allow the lethal drugs to be administered by someone else to those "too weak or ill to self-administer pills."

In Belgium, children can be euthanized and have been, including children aged nine, 11, and 17 due to muscular dystrophy, brain tumors, and cystic fibrosis. Also in Belgium, a woman who had killed her five children was able to be euthanized for "psychological suffering."

The Bottom Line:

The Illinois assisted suicide bill will take effect on September 12, 2026, and after that, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition International Chair Alex Schadenberg predicts "the assisted suicide lobby will work to expand the law and incremental extensions will follow."