SPRINGFIELD — Terminally ill Illinoisans may have the legal option to end their own life with the help of a physician next year under a bill approved by lawmakers Thursday.

The procedure, which advocates and the bill call “medical aid in dying,” would give people in a sound mental state with severe health issues the option to end their life with the help of a doctor.

Under Senate Bill 1950 , doctors would be allowed to prescribe terminally ill patients a lethal dose of medication that they could self-administer at a time of their choice.

Advocates for the procedure, which is legal in 10 states and the District of Columbia, say it provides agency to people at the end of their life.

“I want to enjoy the time I have left with my family and friends,” Deb Robertson, a terminally ill woman

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