Lawsuits Challenge New York and Illinois Assisted-Suicide Laws

Disability coalitions filed two lawsuits on June 11 challenging assisted-suicide statutes scheduled to take effect later this year in New York and Illinois. The New York suit targets the Medical Aid In Dying Act, which permits terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to request medication to end their lives beginning August 5.

Plaintiffs argue the statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by creating unequal access to care for people with disabilities. The Illinois suit contests the End of Life Options Act, set to become law on September 12.

A physician, two disabled patients, and advocacy groups claim the measure lacks objective eligibility standards and may expose disabled individuals to pressure from insurers, hospitals, and physicians.

Glucksberg (1997), the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Constitution does not protect a right to physician-assisted suicide and that states may prohibit the practice under the Due Process Clause. The companion case Vacco v. Quill, decided the same day, rejected an Equal Protection Clause challenge to New York’s ban, finding that refusing life-saving treatment is not equivalent to assisted suicide.

Oregon (2006), the Court ruled that the federal Controlled Substances Act does not authorize the Attorney General to bar physicians from prescribing regulated drugs for assisted suicide when state law permits the practice.

As of 2026, 13 states and the District of Columbia have legalized physician-assisted suicide. Federal law does not establish a nationwide right to the procedure. Physician-assisted suicides rose 1000 percent between 2014 and 2024, and at least 14,446 Americans have died from them since 1997, according to Aging with Dignity.