Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Bilberbeck's article describes Beukema's euthanasia death based on anorexia in a positive manner. The article interviews the family and suggests that they were supportive of Esther's death and happy that she didn't die alone.
The article suggests that there is no other choice, when euthanasia is done for mental illness, and in this case anorexia. Bilberbeck writes:
The Dutch Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act of 2002 states someone can be permitted euthanasia for psychiatric as well as physical illnesses if there is 'no reasonable alternative' and the patient's suffering is 'unbearable with no prospect of improvement'.A landmark study by Chelsea Roff and Catherine Cook-Cottone titled: Assisted death in eating disorders: a systematic review of cases and clinical rationales, was published by Frontiers in Psychiatry on July 30, 2024.
For people with anorexia there is always a reasonable alternative.
The authors of the study responded by promoting a Joint Statement Against Assisted Suicide for Eating Disorders. The Joint Statement says:
Eating disorders are treatable conditions that require timely and comprehensive treatment. Yet many cannot access care due to cost, inadequate insurance coverage, extensive wait times, and a shortage of specialist services. The notion that they are incurable or terminal is scientifically unsupported and dangerously misleading. The term “terminal anorexia” is not recognized by any formal medical body, has been widely rejected by researchers and clinicians, and represents a profound misunderstanding of these conditions.The statement by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders (ANAD) in June 2024 concerning euthanasia and anorexia stated:
People with eating disorders need access to evidence-based and inclusive treatment, not lethal medications. Poor outcomes, including deaths, are nearly always preventable.We categorically reject the argument that assisted suicide is a form of compassionate care for individuals with eating disorders. Compassionate care involves consistent, effective treatment — not facilitating suicide. Together, we call on governments to act to ensure that every individual with an eating disorder receives the care, compassion, and treatment they need to recover.
We must not confuse ‘chronic’ with ‘terminal.’ Being labeled with a terminal illness has the potential to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I reject the concept that eating disorders are a terminal condition.
I am convinced that Esther Beukema was abandoned by the medical system. Her family would have wanted her to be happy, but in fact Esther was abandoned to death.
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