Deb Robertson closely watched the calendar, hoping to live long enough to see new Illinois legislation take effect that allows terminally ill people to end their lives using lethal medication.
asserted
people → watch → medication
A diagnosis of a rare, aggressive cancer ended her 30-year career supporting homeless youth.
asserted
diagnosis → end → youth
As her condition rapidly worsened, making her feel "like a walking time bomb," she found a new calling as a leading voice for end-of-life choices.
asserted
she → worsen → choices
She shared her experience publicly and traveled from near Chicago to Springfield, the state capital, to persuade lawmakers to legalize medically assisted dying.
asserted
She → share → dying
That moment arrived on Sept. 12.
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moment → arrive → Sept.
Robertson celebrated at home alongside friends and family as "Deb’s law" was enacted.
asserted
law → celebrate → friends
Illinois became the first state in the Midwest, and the 13th state overall alongside the District of Columbia, to pass the measure.
asserted
Illinois → become → measure
"I believe that God gave me this extra time so that I could see this law through," said Robertson, 68.
uncertain
Robertson → believe → law
"I believe that people have the right to leave this Earth with dignity and on their own terms."
asserted
people → believe → terms
Medically assisted death for terminally ill patients has been legalized in numerous countries in recent years, with others weighing similar laws.
asserted
others → assist → laws
In the U.S., Illinois and New York are the latest states to join this accelerating legislative push.
asserted
Illinois → join → push
The issue remains bitterly contested
Opponents, including many religious groups, lawmakers and disability advocates, have moral objections to someone ending their life.
asserted
someone → contest → life
Even with safeguards in place, some argue, the decision could be made for the wrong reasons.
uncertain
decision → argue → reasons
“It puts people like myself — people with developmental and mental disabilities, as well as physical disabilities — in danger,” said Ebony Payne, a Chicago-based disability advocate who is quadriplegic.
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who → put → danger
She was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against “Deb’s law,″ contending it discriminates against people with disabilities.
asserted
it → contend → disabilities
Even Pope Leo XIV weighed in, urging Gov. JB Pritzker not to sign the bill.
asserted
XIV → weigh → bill
Leo later said he was “very disappointed” that his home state of Illinois approved a law condemned by the Catholic Church.
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state → say → Church
Polls show that most Americans think medical aid in dying is either morally acceptable or not a moral issue, although opinions vary across different faiths and political lines.
asserted
opinions → show → faiths
Dr. Jessica Kaan, medical director for End of Life Washington, an advocacy group, has helped hundreds of patients in Washington and Oregon with assisted dying.
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Kaan → help → dying
Her mother, a practicing Christian, opposes it on religious grounds: “She’s horrified that I’m involved in any way.”
asserted
I → practice → way
Kaan says she’s an advocate for choices.
asserted
she → say → choices
Her perspective is shaped by the types of deaths she has witnessed.
asserted
she → shape → deaths
Among them are patients with ALS, a progressive disease that attacks nerve cells controlling muscles throughout the body. “It’s a particularly gruesome and awful way for most people to even anticipate their dying,” she said about a disease that takes away the body’s ability to move and speak.
asserted
that → attack → ability
For many terminally ill patients, she said, having the option gives them a sense of comfort, even if they eventually might not use it.
uncertain
they → say → it
“I respect that people don’t want to choose that as an option for themselves.
asserted
people → respect → themselves
What I don’t love is for people trying to police that for other people.”
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love → love → people
How a California man prepared to die
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man → prepare → ?
Peter Redgrove of San Diego, a late-stage bone marrow cancer and leukemia patient, used California’s assisted-dying law on Sunday.
asserted
Redgrove → use → Sunday
After 19 rounds of chemotherapy, he decided to set the terms of his death following a long, pain-wracked hospital stay.
asserted
he → decide → stay
“I see no point in enduring pain and suffering emotionally, psychologically and physically, when there are means to end it,” said Redgrove, 85, days before he took the lethal prescription cocktail in a cup emblazoned with Sylvester, his favorite character from the Looney Tunes.
asserted
he → see → Tunes
“I don’t think you get extra points for hanging in to the bitter end.”
asserted
you → think → end
Redgrove grew up in Catholic orphanages in England before moving to the U.S.
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Redgrove → grow → U.S.
Although he was no longer a practicing Catholic, he remained close to his faith, often wearing a crucifix he only gave away right before his death.
asserted
he → practice → death
“An all-loving God is not going to punish me and throw me into a fire pit because I’m doing this,” Redgrove said in his room at a residential facility, where he spent his last days listening to classical music and reminding people to be kind.
asserted
he → love → people
With a death doula’s help, he invited loved ones to a celebration of his life that included Champagne, a shroud to wrap his body in his favorite royal purple and a final song: “Time” by The Alan Parsons Project.
asserted
that → invite → Project
Before he took his last breath, he read a Buddhist prayer.
asserted
he → take → prayer
State by state, the movement has spread
Oregon was the first U.S. state to pass a medical aid-in-dying law; it took effect in 1997.
asserted
it → spread → 1997
As other states followed suit, what remains generally consistent is that to use the laws, one must have an incurable illness and less than six months to live, said Thaddeus Pope, a bioethicist at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.
asserted
Pope → follow → Paul
To qualify, one must also be able to understand and make a voluntary decision and be able to take the prescribed medications without assistance.
asserted
one → qualify → assistance
The latest states to legalize medical aid in dying are among the most populous: New York, where it took effect in August, and Illinois earlier this month.
asserted
it → legalize → August
…and 43 more, not listed.
The Aporia
