Game of Thrones actress opposes assisted suicide.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Sophia Turner

People Magazine, which has continuously promoted the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, offered neutrality in the resent article by Vanessa Etienne that was published on November 27.

Etienne reported that Sophie Turner, the 29-year-old Game of Thrones alum signed an open letter to the U.K. House of Lords opposing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would allow adults in the U.K. to be killed by their doctor upon request.

The Open Letter which was published on November 18 by the Eat Breathe Thrive Foundation an organization that changes the lives of people who struggle with eating disorders.

The Open Letter that was signed by Sophie Turner and many more states:

November 18, 2025

Dear Members of the House of Lords,

We are writing to express deep concern about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and the serious risk it poses to people with eating disorders.

If passed, this bill could make individuals with eating disorders eligible for assisted death at times when they are unable to access or accept treatment. Many young people who could recover with effective care might instead receive lethal medication during a period of despair.

In jurisdictions where assisted death is legal, women with eating disorders have already died under laws intended only for those who are terminally ill. One such woman was Jessica, a thirty-six-year-old from Colorado who lived with anorexia and depression. When she was unable to increase her nutritional intake, her doctor concluded that her illness was irreversible and incurable, and prescribed medication to end her life. Jessica died after taking the drugs. According to her family, she repeatedly said she did not want to die but could not continue living as she was.

These were not individuals who were inevitably dying, but individuals whose illnesses had become life-threatening in the absence of effective treatment. The bill’s definition of “terminally ill,” like that used in Colorado, could be interpreted to include people with eating disorders who develop severe physical complications from starvation, purging, or restricting insulin. In a health system already stretched beyond capacity, someone who is severely ill and ambivalent about treatment could be assessed as eligible for assisted death.

Some have argued that people with eating disorders would not be eligible because they lack capacity. This reflects a misunderstanding of capacity and the nature of these illnesses. People with eating disorders are often coherent and capable of making decisions unrelated to nutrition, even when seriously ill. Evidence from other countries shows that in sixty documented cases where people with eating disorders died by assisted death, doctors found they had capacity to make that decision.

Amendments may lessen the risk for people with eating disorders but cannot remove it entirely. The deeper problem lies within the healthcare system itself. Decades of underinvestment, limited research, and poor coordination have left services overstretched and fragmented. Families are waiting months, sometimes years, for treatment while the illness progresses to more severe, complex, and life-threatening stages.

The Eating Disorders APPG’s most recent report has called for a confidential inquiry into eating disorder deaths to identify and address failings that contribute to preventable deaths. That recommendation remains unfulfilled.

No eating disorder expert was invited to give evidence to the Select Committee, despite repeated warnings from charities, campaigners, families, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists that the bill, as drafted, places this group at risk.

We urge you to pause and ensure that legislation intended to bring compassion to those facing terminal illness does not end the lives of those who could still recover.

Previous articles on Eating Disorders:

• As an Anorexic I would have longed for an assisted death (Link).
• Landmark study: Assisted death for eating disorders (Link).
• At least 60 people with eating disorders euthanized or assisted in suicide since 2012 (Link).
• ANAD clarifies that Anorexia Nervosa is not a terminal condition (Link)
• When I was Anorexic I would have chosen assisted suicide (Link).
• Psychiatrist: Anorexia does not justify Aid in Dying (Link).
• Anorexia is not a terminal condition (Link).