SPRINGFIELD — Despite facing legislative hurdles, Democrats on an Illinois House committee voted to push forward a bill that would let terminally ill patients request life-ending medication.

The legislation, which needs approval from the state House, Senate and governor’s office, would legalize the prescription of life-ending drugs.

State House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, presented the bill to the committee Wednesday, calling the measure a push for patient bodily autonomy.

“Medical aid in dying is a trusted and time-tested method of medical practice,” Gabel said.

Similar legislation has passed in 11 states and Washington, D.C. Oregon became the first state to pass legislation allowing life-ending treatment in 1997.

In Illinois however, legislation approving medical aid in dying has struggled to gain support within the General Assembly’s Democrat supermajority.

“This is an incredibly difficult issue for me and my district,” state Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, said before the committee’s vote. “ I will be a yes [on the bill] now, I cannot commit to being a yes on the floor [of the House of Representatives].”

Opponents said they fear the legislation will lead to abuse by medical professionals and insurance companies that will prioritize profits over long term care.

“The existence of assisted suicide is a threat to not just the kind of healthcare we deserve but a threat to our ability to live and die with dignity,” said Sebastian Nalls, a policy analyst with Access Living, a group that serves those with disabilities.

Proponents of medical aid in dying emphasize the freedom of choice and ease of burden terminally ill patients have reported when allowed to make the decision for themselves.

“I became disabled due to a traumatic injury when I was 17, and the first thing I felt was a tremendous loss of control over my life,” Beth Langen told the committee Wednesday.

“We as a culture don’t deal particularly well with the only thing in life that’s certain, and that’s our eventual death, and I think the most frightening thing about it is the loss of control.” Langen said. “I want for myself, for those I love, for anyone else the right to have some modicum of control not just about how they’ve chosen to live but how we approach our death.”