Major US state allows terminally-ill people to choose to end their lives as critics warn of 'heartbreaking' risks

Another US state has passed into law the right for its residents to request to end their own lives, with Illinois' Governor JB Pritzker giving final approval to the controversial measure on Friday (December 12).

The state's new Medical Aid and Dying Bill will allow adults with a terminal illness and a prognosis of under six months to request a prescription from their doctor that would end their own lives.

This medication would be self-administered by the patient, but opponents in Illinois have raised concerns about potential risks.

Safeguards written into the bill require two physicians to verify the six-month prognosis, that the patient is of sound mind, and that all palliative and hospice care options are provided to them.

It also makes it a felony to coerce someone into requesting a fatal prescription or to forge a prescription, according to a government press release.

The legislation has come to be known as 'Debs Law' after the terminally ill campaigner, Deb Robertson, who has campaigned tirelessly for people in Illinois to have the right to end their lives on their terms.

Terminally ill patients will be able to request a drug that ends their life (Getty Stock Image)

Her testimony and that of other people suffering in the throes of a terminal condition are what have motivated politicians to move ahead with the legislation.

Governor JB Pritzker attested to the compelling testimony of patients with terminal illnesses and cited their brave stories as the motivating factor behind his decision to sign the bill into law.

In a statement after the signing, Pritzker said: "Today, Illinois honors their strength and courage by enacting legislation that enables patients faced with debilitating terminal illnesses to make a decision, in consultation with a doctor, that helps them avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives."

But opponents to the bill have warned that the legislation could have potential unintended consequences for vulnerable people.

Access Living spokesperson Amber Smock responded: "Illinois is already a state where people with disabilities have some of the least amount of services, the least amount of quality supports to live in the community.

"What people with disabilities want is the right to live, not just a right to die."

Governor Pritzker (left) signed the bill into law (Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, according to The Independent, the Catholic Conference of Illinois said the law could put Illnois on a 'a dangerous and heartbreaking path', as they claimed instead of 'investing in real end-of-life support such as palliative and hospice care, pain management, and family-centered accompaniment', the state 'ignores the very real failures in access to quality care that drive vulnerable people to despair'.

But despite opposition from religious and disability advocacy groups, the right to assisted dying is spreading across the country. The Illinois governor's signature on Friday made the state the 12th, including Washington DC, to legalize euthanasia.

As of now, 11 US states have legalized assisted dying bills, with Oregon being the first to do so in 1997.

Family members of people in Illinois who have suffered from terminal diagnoses have welcomed the new law, with resident Suzy Flack sharing how her son Andrew had been forced to travel to California following a terminal cancer diagnosis, leaving him to die far from home.

"I think it's something that will benefit all," she said (via ABC News). "He desperately wanted to live, and he fought for many, many years to keep going, and eventually, it just became too much, too much pain."

With the bill now signed into law, people over the age of 18 in Illinois with a terminal illness will be able to ask their physician for a prescription that will end their life from September 12 next year.