Illinois and New York became the latest states to legalize the intentional killing of those believed to be terminally ill. This means 13 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., will allow for assisted suicide beginning in 2026.

“This legislation will be thoughtfully implemented so that physicians can consult patients on making deeply personal decisions with authority, autonomy, and empathy,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker stated. He signed the bill on Friday, Dec. 12. The Illinois General Assembly snuck the language into an unrelated bill about food preparation.

The law allows for individuals to take drugs to end their lives. “In Illinois, patients 18 and older with physician-confirmed mental capacity to make medical decisions may request end-of-life medication if they have an illness that could be fatal within six months, as verified by two doctors; as well as have received information about all end-of-life care options, such as hospice or palliative care,” the Associated Press reported.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she will also support assisted suicide, claiming that it is what God would want.

“I was taught that God is merciful and compassionate, and so must we be,” the Democratic governor wrote. “This includes permitting a merciful option to those facing the unimaginable and searching for comfort in their final months in this life.” New York’s law is similar to the one passed in Illinois.

Yet Catholic Church leaders have pointed out that assisted suicide is not compassion, and what people really need at the end of their life is pain management and spiritual support.

“Rather than investing in real end-of-life support such as palliative and hospice care, pain management, and family-centered accompaniment, our state has chosen to normalize killing oneself,” the Catholic Conference in Illinois stated. The group represents bishops in the state and, by extension, Catholics. “This law ignores the very real failures in access to quality care that drive vulnerable people to despair.”

The New York State Catholic Conference highlighted the irony in the Empire State fighting suicide on one hand while legalizing it with the other.

“While New York rightly spends millions of dollars a year to combat suicide, it is considering undermining these efforts significantly by declaring that oftentimes, suicide is ‘death with dignity,’” the conference wrote. “The not-so-subtle implication is that those who choose to fight for their lives or to simply allow themselves to die a natural death are somehow undignified.”

Disability rights groups also oppose assisted suicide laws over fear that it will be the disabled who are pressured into using it.

In a lengthy piece in early December, the New York Times also highlighted concerns about assisted suicide, including who it applies to or could be extended to include.

“Opponents, concerned that mental illness can involve a pathological wish to die, say it can be difficult to predict the potential effectiveness of treatments,” the newspaper reported. “And, they argue, people who struggle to get help from an overburdened public health service may simply give up and choose to die, though their conditions might have been improved.”

The newspaper also noted some countries allow children to consent to suicide. Similar problems of the capability to fully understand the situation arise when someone has dementia or Alzheimer’s, the newspaper noted.

People with terminal illnesses deserve medical care, pain management, and spiritual support to help them cope with their situation and prepare for an impending death. But handing them drugs and watching them die is not true compassion. Rather, the most compassionate thing someone can do is to be with the terminally ill throughout their difficult journey and provide emotional and physical support to help them live out their final days in comfort.