Pope Leo XIV says he's “very disappointed” that his home state of Illinois has approved a law allowing for medically assisted suicide, and he called for greater respect for life.
Leo said he had spoken “explicitly” with state governor JB Pritzker and urged him to not sign the bill into law.
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich did the same, Leo told reporters as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.
“We were very clear about the necessity to respect the sacredness of life from the very beginning to the very end, and unfortunately, for different reasons, he decided to sign that bill,” Leo said. “I am very disappointed about that.”
Pritzer signed the legislation on December 12.
The measure is also known as “Deb’s Law,” honouring Deb Robertson, a resident of the state living with a rare terminal illness.
She had pushed for the measure’s approval and testified to the suffering of people and their families wanting the chance to decide for themselves how and when their lives should end.
Pritzker, a Democrat, had said he had been moved by stories of patients suffering from terminal illness.
Leo, who grew up in Chicago, cited Catholic teaching, which calls for the defence and protection of life from conception until natural death, forbidding abortion and euthanasia.
“I would invite all people, especially in these Christmas days, to reflect upon the nature of human life, the goodness of human life,” Leo said.
“God became human like us to show us what it means really to live human life, and I hope and pray that the respect for life will once again grow in all moments of human existence, from conception to natural death.”
The state’s six Catholic dioceses had criticised Pritzker’s signing, saying the law puts Illinois “on a dangerous and heartbreaking path.”
Eleven other states and the District of Columbia allow medically assisted suicide, according to the advocacy group, Death With Dignity. Delaware was the latest, and its provision takes effect January 1, 2026. Seven other states are considering allowing it.
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