A U.S. district judge issued a temporary restraining order on Sept. 11, 2026 that bars the state of Illinois from enforcing its newly enacted End‑of‑Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act against the Archdiocese of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and pharmacist Luke Vander Bleek.
The order safeguards the First Amendment rights of the Catholic plaintiffs while the courts consider a request for a preliminary injunction and await a pending Seventh Circuit decision on related religious‑freedom challenges to Illinois abortion mandates.
Represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the plaintiffs argue that the law would compel them to prescribe, dispense, or refer patients for lethal medication—practices that conflict with Catholic teaching. The law also contains a “gag order” provision that, according to Becket, could punish a nurse or nun simply for telling a patient, “Don’t kill yourself. Jesus loves you.”
Illinois officials agreed to the TRO, which protects only the named plaintiffs. The order does not prevent the Illinois Department of Public Health or the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation from pursuing enforcement against other providers who are not parties to the case.
Judge Franklin Valderrama, a Trump‑appointed federal judge, has overseen a second TRO that similarly shields Catholic doctors from the law’s requirements. Both orders were issued as the state prepares to put the law into effect on Sept. 12, the day after the court's intervention.
Cardinal Cupich warned that the statute would force Catholic health‑care providers to violate their conscience by informing patients of the “benefits” of suicide and assisting in obtaining lethal drugs. Mother Mary Rose Heery, prioress general of the Carmelite Sisters, said the TRO brings “real peace of mind” to the sisters, their residents, and families.
The legal battle continues. The plaintiffs are expected to file a motion for a preliminary injunction within a week of the Seventh Circuit’s upcoming ruling on related cases. If the court ultimately upholds the plaintiffs’ claims, Illinois may be required to amend or halt enforcement of the assisted‑suicide law for all religious health‑care providers.