The state of Illinois agreed on September 29 not to enforce its assisted suicide law against four Muslim doctors who say their faith forbids them from helping patients end their lives.
Four doctors – Dr Akbar Ali, Dr Asim Babar, Dr Omar Hussain and Dr Umar Shakur – filed suit against Illinois on September 16, just days after the state’s “End of Life Options Act” (EOLOA) came into force.
“Doctors shouldn’t need a federal court order to refuse to help patients die. No patient should have to hear the government’s sales pitch for suicide in the exam room,” said Mark Rienzi, president of Becket and the lead attorney for the doctors, in a September 30 press release.
