Illinois end-of-life law takes effect; Cupich TRO covers named providers only

On September 12, 2026, Illinois’ End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act — also called EOLA, EOLOA, or Deb’s Law — took effect statewide, OSV News reported. The statute was not blocked. On September 10, U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. of the Northern District of Illinois denied a preliminary injunction in Payne v. Pritzker, a disability-rights challenge. The written order said the plaintiffs failed to establish standing: they did not show a concrete and imminent injury traceable to a named defendant. The judge also found they had not shown irreparable harm and gave them 30 days to show cause why the case should not be dismissed for lack of standing.

A separate stipulated temporary restraining order, entered September 11 by U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama in Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm v. Prince, shields Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Little Sisters of the Poor (Chicago province), Morrison pharmacist Luke Vander Bleek, and Catholic health entities under Cupich’s authority in the Archdiocese of Chicago from being forced to inform patients about assisted suicide, help them qualify for lethal drugs, or refer them onward, and from licensure or discipline for refusing, CBS Chicago and OSV News reported. CBS Chicago said the state agreed to the stipulated order. The TRO covers the named plaintiffs, people providing care on their premises, and Catholic health entities under Cupich’s authority — not a statewide block. A ruling on a preliminary injunction remains pending.

The earlier Kirchoff stipulated TRO still shields only the named plaintiffs tied to Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield and Catholic health entities under his authority — not the whole state. As Capitol News Illinois described the Act, and as Judge Tharp’s order recounts it, it applies to terminally ill adults with a prognosis of fewer than six months, confirmed by two physicians. Patients must be able to self-administer the drugs, have decision-making capacity, and not be coerced. This brief records the September 12 effective date, the Tharp denial, and the party-only religious TROs. It does not characterize anyone’s motives.