For Immediate Release
NEW YORK and CHICAGO (June 11, 2026) — In a major expansion of its national campaign, the End Assisted Suicide coalition of disability and patient advocacy organizations today filed simultaneous federal lawsuits in New York and Illinois, challenging the constitutionality of those states’ assisted suicide laws. The New York complaint is here. The Illinois complaint is here.
These filings represent the fourth and fifth lawsuits in the coalition’s multi-state legal effort to protect the rights of people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations, following previous actions in California, Colorado, and Delaware. The lawsuits argue these policies violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, as well as state constitutional protections.
“Our aim is to secure a national precedent that affirms the equal protection and civil rights of people with disabilities in every state,” said co-counsel Michael Bien of Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP.
Legal action is being brought forward by the following plaintiffs:
- National:
- NCIL: NCIL represents thousands of organizations and individuals including: individuals with disabilities, Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs), and other organizations that advocate for the human and civil rights of people with disabilities throughout the U.S.
- Not Dead Yet: Not Dead Yet is a national, progressive, secular disability rights group that opposes legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia as deadly forms of discrimination against old, ill and disabled people.
- Institute for Patients’ Rights: The Institute for Patients’ Rights is a national, secular, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending the rights of patients, people with disabilities, older adults, and historically underrepresented communities against medical practices and public policies that devalue their lives through the threat of legalized assisted suicide.
- United Spinal Association: United Spinal Association represents the nation’s 5.5 million wheelchair users, advocating for a fully inclusive society.
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- Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled: Founded in 1956, BCID became a disability-led independent living center in 1981. BCID is dedicated to guaranteeing the civil rights and independence of people with disabilities in Brooklyn and beyond with its free services and advocacy.
- Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley: ILCHV is a disability rights organization that is led by and inspires people with disabilities to achieve self-determination and advocates for an integrated society with full participation in community life.
- Regional Center for Independent Living (RCIL): RCIL envisions a world where everyone, regardless of disability, lives in the most integrated and independent setting possible, and has the opportunity to contribute to the economic, political, and social development of their community.
- Self-Initiated Living Options, Inc. (SILO): SILO provides programs and services to people with disabilities in Suffolk County and Nassau County. SILO is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, consumer controlled, non-residential, civil rights, mentoring and educational organization.
- Anita Cameron, individual plaintiff: Disability justice activist who has been involved in social change activism and community organizing for 44 years; she is a member of plaintiff organization, RCIL.
- José Hernández, individual plaintiff: A person with disabilities and a member of plaintiff organization United Spinal Association.
- Illinois
- Chicago ADAPT: ADAPT is a grassroots, member-led organization of people with disabilities and allies that campaigns for the human right of people with disabilities to live in freedom, promotes social and economic justice, and builds people power through organizing, nonviolent direct action, and leadership development.
- Progress Center for Independent Living: The Progress Center serves Suburban Cook County, working to provide people with all types of disabilities the tools and resources to be independent in their own homes and the community. Progress Center is one of 22 centers serving Illinois.
- Nooshig Luz Salvador, individual plaintiff: Practicing palliative care physician concerned for patient safety.
- Ebony Payne, individual plaintiff: African American female from the south side of Chicago, is quadriplegic, and is a member of Humanized Long-term Care Campaign, Consumer Voice, United Spinal Association, Chicago ADAPT, and several other organizations.
- Pam Heavens, individual plaintiff: 69-year-old female with significant lifelong disabilities.
“Assisted suicide laws in New York and Illinois create a separate and unequal system in which people with life-threatening disabilities are offered death instead of the support programs everyone else gets,” said Matt Vallière, president/executive director of plaintiff organization Institute for Patients’ Rights. “These legal actions are about affirming that every person has inestimable value and dignity, regardless of age, disability, or prognosis, and ensuring that no one is treated as disposable under the law.”
The new lawsuits were announced at a disability community forum in opposition to assisted suicide laws outside the United Nations, where sessions were being held at the 19th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The forum drew opponents to assisted suicide from across the globe as well as prominent, local New York leaders for independent living, and disability and mental health advocates.
José Hernández, an individual plaintiff, a person with disabilities, and a member of plaintiff organization United Spinal Association, spoke about how America once cared about preserving lives and prioritizing treatment to extend life. His mother was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer when she was 28 years old and he was only eight. Doctors estimated she would live for only six months.
“At the time, assisted suicide was not available, and thankfully so,” Hernández said. “Doctors did everything they could, her insurance paid for life-saving treatment, and my mother survived for 13 years. If she had chosen to end her life, I would have missed out on 13 years of goodnight kisses, home-cooked meals, and the opportunity to be raised by a mother who made me the strong man I am today.”
The lawsuits argue that assisted suicide statutes in both states discriminate against people with disabilities by singling them out for lethal prescriptions rather than providing equal access to the care, support, and suicide prevention services offered to those perceived as non or less disabled. Plaintiffs contend that these laws violate the ADA and Section 504 by denying equal protection and due process to individuals with disabilities and that they run afoul of the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to safeguard the rights and lives of a protected class.
Representing the Illinois plaintiffs, Ebony Payne said, “I joined the lawsuit because of personal experiences that brought me really close to death and the people who I leaned on to do the right thing became the people to do the opposite. It [the Illinois law] is a trainwreck and is not what you expect from people who are obligated to do no harm.”
The filings come at a time of deep concern in the disability community, as ongoing Medicaid cuts, a national shortage of home care workers, and mounting institutionalization pressures leave many people with disabilities without the supports they need to live safely and independently.
“When states legalize assisted suicide while simultaneously cutting home care and community-based services, they send a dangerous message: that death is a solution for disability and lack of support,” said Sharon Shapiro, a board member at the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, a plaintiff in the case. “This is not ‘choice,’ it’s discrimination.”
Timeline
- California (2023):The End Assisted Suicide coalition filed the first federal lawsuit challenging California’s End of Life Option Act, alleging discrimination against people with disabilities.
- Colorado (2025):A coalition filed suit against Colorado’s assisted suicide law, highlighting risks to patients with non-terminal conditions including anorexia.
- Delaware (2025): Advocates filed a federal challenge to Delaware’s proposed assisted suicide legislation.
- New York (2026):Today’s filing marks the fourth lawsuit, targeting New York’s assisted suicide statute on ADA, Section 504, and constitutional grounds. Plaintiffs are also seeking a Temporary Restraining Order to halt enforcement of the law scheduled to go into effect Aug. 5, protecting vulnerable New Yorkers who may be experiencing thoughts of suicide.
- Illinois (2026):Simultaneous with New York, End Assisted Suicide groups filed their fifth lawsuit, challenging Illinois’ law as discriminatory and unconstitutional. This action is ahead of the new law’s Sept. 12 effective date.
For more information about the lawsuits, legal teams, plaintiffs, and media kits, visit EndAssistedSuicide.org.
Suicidal thoughts or actions (even in very young children, older adults, and people with life-threatening illness/disability) are a sign of extreme distress and should not be ignored. If you or someone you know needs immediate help, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. Learn more about ways you can help someone who might be at risk for self-harm.
Selected Media
Disability Rights Orgs. Seek To Halt NY, Ill. ‘Aid-In-Dying’ Laws, Law360, June 12, 2026
Illinois medical-aid-in-dying law faces federal lawsuit from disabled patients, doctors before September start, Chicago Tribune, June 11, 2026
Disability patients sue New York to stop doctor-assisted suicide law, New York Post, June 11, 2026
Disability rights advocates file lawsuit over Illinois’ ‘dangerous’ right-to-die law, Chicago Sun-Times, June 11, 2026
Media Contact:
Meg Tully
Spokespeople for plaintiff groups and individual plaintiffs are available for media interviews upon request.