>> as Illinois lawmakers consider a bill that would allow terminally ill adults to end their lives with medical assistance.

Those opposed to what's commonly known as physician assisted suicide are sounding the alarm.

They warned the proposal could deepen health disparities and put the lives of poor, disabled and incarcerated Illinois at risk.

Meanwhile, advocates of the measure say it gives individuals already dying more control over how their life ends.

Joining us, our Sebastian Knowles policy analyst with Access Living, a group that supports Chicagoans with disabilities and on Zoom, Tiffany Johnson and end of life doula and founder of We too, Shall Pass.

Thanks to you both for for joining us to talk about this.

yesterday Illinois House committee voted in favor of pushing this bill forward.

Of course, if it passes the House, if that should happen, it would still have to go through the Senate.

Tiffany Johnson actually want to start with you.

Why do you think the state needs this legislation?

>> Thank you so much for having me.

I have personal experience as well as profound experience with in my life to live work, which formally began in 2018.

But I have had the great privilege of witnessing all kinds of >> death and dining experiences follow.

So through that experience to my own father is dying and through my father experience who was in the state of Illinois diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, wishing for option to end the pain and suffering he was going through did not have that access.

It became personal for me at that moment and we have this available in states.

I don't see why Illinois.

It should be unable to act.

Alright, just to Shun.

>> Ok, thank you, Tiffany.

You froze for just a second there.

But we've got you Sebastian has a disability justice advocate water can.

What are your concerns that you have with this kind of legislation for the disabled community?

Definitely.

So I first want to start off and ground us in the conversation.

I'm sure that we can all agree that our health care system quite frankly, is broken.

>> That 82% of physicians believe that people with disabilities have a lower quality of life.

And there's multiple studies have gone But we through the COVID-19 pandemic that there were plenty of individuals and plenty of policies across hospitals across the entirety of the United States that have policies in place that prioritize ventilators for people do not have disabilities.

that did not give those ventilators to people with disabilities.

Again, this is the devaluation of the disabled lives.

So those this component.

But there's also the idea that our healthcare system again fundamentally broken, but we are on the verge of a health care crisis where we are saying that hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents.

At risk of losing their Medicaid coverage that 30,000 plus undocumented immigrants are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage through state cuts.

And then as well as 30,000 plus individuals with an online department of Corrections have no access to end of life options whatsoever.

>> From reading some the research in the writings that access living he's done on this.

It sounds like you believe in correct me I'm misunderstanding it, that the health care system should take care of the living better and fewer of them would be in a position big big live longer.

They would have better healthier lives and would not need a position of I'm so ill that I'm now terminal.

I look at this as an and I'm sure the people at home that are watching can relate to that.

>> This idea sounds appealing because there are health care companies and this bill.

They are the ones that ultimately have a choice, right, that individuals are losing their Medicaid coverage, that they are single mother of 4 and their child his diabetic and they have have an inability to access insulin that those individuals right this is their only choice.

If they are no longer able to get insulin for their child right and insurance providers now have the choice through this building.

right?

There is no protections in place.

4 for those who are non terminal patients that plans can be altered benefits can be tonight.

If life extending treatments can be denied for non terminal patients, right?

Those diseases and selves become terminal.

So we want to prioritize increasing the amount of independent living supports the folks have the increasing the access to end of life care and then improving the quality of that end of life care as well.

>> I absolutely and on the same page about quality of India end of life I I have a deep appreciation.

That means this topic is challenging for also speak because we all have mortality rate.

We are all facing this and this bill that is not accessible the insurance companies do not have say actually, that part is incorrect because folks who have a terminal diagnosis that is determined by to independently doctors determined that percent, 6 months or less to live.

Only that individual who has that terminal diagnosis decides for themselves.

The bill gives them the dignity and then me to have that choice to access a compassionate and dignified and and support in medication that they only sell fun.

Just there is no, there's no pollution from family members.

insurance companies, anything along those lines that very deeply built into the bow because I personally as someone who advocates for folks who are dying on a regular basis for my work, it does not matter me what I want or think is right or on rate.

My whole goal is to get people the option and what works best for them.

And then present those options and help support them through those OK, almost out of time.

Tiffany, 11 other states and DC passed similar legislation allowing life in life ending treatment.

What do we know about those models and how they're working?

>> so fire working very well where almost entering on October 27th 28 years that this has been available in the United States beginning in order.

yes, correct.

And it's recently passed in Delaware.

We have several other states coming up.

We just want join the legions of options available to Illinois already.

70% have what's your?

Sorry?

We've just got about 20 seconds.

Sebastien, what's your impression of how this works in states where it is legal?

I will just say this is that there is only one state where there is an accessible option to actually file a claim against a provider for coercion.

>> That there are 3 other states that note which agency is charge of investigating these cases.

But in this bill language, there is no agency charged with investigating Koreshan and this language.

There is no agency in charge oversight mental that oversight lacking in this.

does the bill.

no coercion.

If we can actually reported.

All right.

We'll have to leave it.

There open eye on.

Okay.

We'll have leave it there and keep