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90_SR0076
LRB9005679JSgcC
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, A terminally ill patient should have the choice
3 to request to end his or her life in a dignified manner
4 without resorting to assisted suicide; and
5 WHEREAS, Recent studies have criticized care given to
6 dying patients, especially in acute care settings, indicating
7 that dying patients often face unnecessary physical pain,
8 emotional suffering, and questionable last-minute
9 interventions, such as CPR; and
10 WHEREAS, Physicians have been slow to address comfort
11 care when clearly a cure was not always possible for several
12 reasons; and
13 WHEREAS, Death education is clearly lacking in medical
14 training; archaic State laws governing medication used to
15 manage pain often place the physicians in a
16 conscience-conflict situation; therefore, be it
17 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
18 OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that there is created the Task
19 Force on Comfort Care for the Terminally Ill consisting of 2
20 members of the Senate and 2 members of the public appointed
21 by the President of the Senate, who shall designate one of
22 the Senate members as the chairperson of the Task Force, and
23 2 members of the Senate and 2 members of the public appointed
24 by the Minority Leader of the Senate, all of whom shall serve
25 without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their
26 reasonable and necessary expenses; and be it further
27 RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall study historical and
28 current practices with respect to care provided during the
29 last days of a terminally ill patient's life; and be it
30 further
31 RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall also investigate
-2- LRB9005679JSgcC
1 existing medical procedures that prolong the life of a
2 terminally ill patient and identify the strengths and
3 weaknesses of those procedures and the burdens and benefits
4 those procedures confer upon the patient; and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That the Task force study existing State law
6 relating to the terminally ill; and be it further
7 RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall meet as soon as
8 possible after the appointment of a majority of its members
9 to the Task Force to begin its study, shall thereafter meet
10 at the call of the chairperson, shall hold public hearings,
11 and shall report its findings and recommendations regarding
12 the care of the terminally ill to the Senate by filing copies
13 of its report with the Secretary of the Senate on or before
14 January 31, 1998; and be it further
15 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16 presented to the President of the Senate and to the Minority
17 Leader of the Senate.