Harwood said the pending “medical aid in dying” law presents statutory conflicts that threaten the integrity of death investigations.
“We preside over several hospice deaths throughout our community. It’s not that we don’t trust people or think someone killed another person, but we do have to have the ability to investigate if we need to,” said Harwood. “That’s all we’re asking for out of the governor before he signs this bill, is an amendatory veto giving us that opportunity.”
The Illinois Senate voted 30-27 in passing Senate Bill 1950 – the aid in dying legislation also known as Deb’s Law – on Oct. 31 after House approved the bill in May. The bill awaits Pritzker's signature.
In a social media post last week, Harwood cited substantial concerns about public health and epidemiology. He said the language of the bill conflicts with coroners’ statutory responsibilities, prevents accurate death certification, creates barriers to sharing information with other agencies, and exposes counties to unnecessary legal risks.
“As it stands now, the physician will list the cause of death that relates to the terminal condition, not the medication that actually caused the death,” said Harwood. “We have an issue with that, being sworn for justice on our statute and on our death investigations.”
