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).

Eating disorders are not "untreatable" ---- and not a reason for euthanasia

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Chelsea Roff

The assisted suicide lobby wants to redefine chronic conditions as terminal conditions in order to expand the number of people who have availability to euthanasia and assisted suicide. In America, most assisted suicide laws require a person to have a six month prognosis to be approved for death by assisted suicide.

On July 30, a landmark study was published by Frontiers in Psychiatry that analyzed 60 known cases of euthanasia or assisted suicide deaths based on eating disorders.

Chelsea Roff, the Executive Director of Eat, Breathe, Thrive, an organization that helps people recover from eating disorders, is challenging the concept that people with eating disorders are "untreatable" and can be approved for euthanasia and assisted suicide. The Eat Breathe Thrive update states:

It's been a big year. Since January, we've published three studies on our interventions with Dr. Catherine Cook-Cottone, including a large international randomized controlled trial showing our four-week program can be effective for people with long-standing eating disorders. It’s a huge step in showing that even those who have struggled for years can benefit from the right care and support.

We’ve also faced sobering realities. In August, we learned that over 60 people with eating disorders have died by assisted death. 95% were labeled as “untreatable.” For me, this was a turning point.

Roff is challenging the concept that eating disorders should qualify someone for being killed by euthanasia or assisted suicide. Her study was published in early December in the International Journal of Eat Disorders. Roff successfully helped 277 people with eating disorders,  70% of whom had been living with a chronic eating disorder for at least 10 years.

Eat, Breathe, Thrive stated in their press release:

The randomized controlled trial evaluated the Eat Breathe Thrive Recovery program (EBT-R) and included 277 participants from 27 countries, aged 18 to 65. Nearly 70% of participants had been living with eating disorders for over a decade—a population often labelled as having “severe and enduring eating disorders” and described as resistant to treatment. Notably, 64% of participants had previously attempted therapy, and 22% had undergone inpatient treatment, yet had not achieved recovery prior to participating in this study.

The assisted suicide lobby is not concerned with the science or treatment opportunities that may be available to those people who seek death. They are only concerned with expanding access to death by lethal poison. The philosophy of these pro-death people, that killing people is about personal freedom, choice or autonomy, is actually a propaganda tool --- leading people in need to abandonment and death.

Proposed UK Assisted Dying Bill Fails Public Safety Test

This letter was published in the British Medical Journal.

Dear Editor,

As the UK Parliament prepares to debate assisted dying, its impact on those with mental health conditions, particularly eating disorders, must be urgently considered. If legalised, the proposed bill may enable patients with treatable eating disorders who have life-threatening malnutrition and/or feel suicidal to qualify for assisted death. Looi (1) highlights global expansion in assisted dying laws, yet gaps in safeguarding vulnerable groups remain.

Research suggests assisted dying laws have already led to preventable deaths of young people with eating disorders in multiple countries (2). At least 60 individuals with eating disorders have died through physician-assisted death, including in jurisdictions limiting the practice to terminal conditions. Of these, one-third involved women under 30. These deaths raise profound ethical concerns, as many patients were severely depressed or suicidal when deemed eligible.

These patients did not have concurrent terminal illnesses. Rather, clinicians asserted their eating disorders were “untreatable,” offering limited substantiating evidence. Some practitioners suggested patients had “terminal anorexia,” a term not recognised by any medical authority (3). Downs et al. (4) described it as a “nosological free-for-all,” highlighting the danger of inventing new illness classifications to justify ending vulnerable lives under the guise of medical treatment. Empirical efforts to validate terminal anorexia have raised significant questions about its validity (5). Anorexia nervosa is not a terminal condition; almost all the medical complications of eating disorders are reversible with nutrition and weight restoration (6).

The proposed bill aims to restrict eligibility to terminal illness — in practice, this safeguard is porous. In Oregon US, officials interpret “terminal illness” as any condition expected to cause death within six months if untreated (7). Patients with non-terminal conditions can become terminal by choosing to forego life-extending treatments, such as dialysis. This has led to deaths in patients with non-terminal conditions; including anorexia, arthritis, and hernias (8). The wording of the proposed U.K. bill similarly allows for this broad interpretation, offering minimal protection to vulnerable patients (9).

Assessing capacity to make a life-ending decision is particularly fraught in patients with malnutrition or mental distress (10, 11) who may appear lucid and articulate, yet struggle to process information fully. Evidence suggests that clinicians’ judgments of capacity in these patients are often inconsistent (11). In Oregon, only three individuals who received lethal prescriptions (1%) were referred for psychiatric evaluation in 2023, down from 33% in previous years (12), raising concerns that evaluators have become less cautious about capacity and psychiatric comorbidities.

Moreover, evidence from jurisdictions where assisted dying is legal reveals weak oversight and opaque reporting mechanisms (13). For example, U.S. oversight agencies confirmed anorexia nervosa has been documented as a terminal illness in cases of assisted death; however, these cases are hidden in public reports under the broad category “Other Illnesses” (2). Officials declined to disclose the exact number of cases, and agencies have limited authority to investigate potential misapplications of the law.

In the UK, the Court of Protection has already allowed treatment withdrawal and palliative care for eating disorders deemed ‘untreatable’ (14). However, researchers have raised concerns that many patients are labeled 'untreatable' without having received adequate treatment (4). If the proposed bill passes, “palliative care for eating disorders” may expand to assisted dying, undermining protections for those with complex, often stigmatised mental health conditions.

Evidence from other jurisdictions should serve as a stark warning to UK policymakers. The question before Parliament is not only whether individuals have the right to die, but whether assisted dying can be safely implemented within the NHS. Evidence from other countries shows that safeguards intended to protect vulnerable patients from medically-assisted suicide have failed. We urge MPs to weigh these findings carefully and vote against the bill—it fails the public safety test.

Chelsea Roff
Executive Director, Eat Breathe Thrive

James Downs
Peer Researcher and Expert by Experience

Agnes Ayton
Consultant Psychiatrist in Eating Disorders
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Ashish Kumar
Chair, Faculty of Eating Disorders, RCPsych
Clinical Director at Mersey Care Foundation Trust

Angela Guarda
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Director
Eating Disorders Program Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Patricia Westmoreland
Medical Director, ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders & Severe Malnutrition Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado

Philip Mehler
Founder, ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders & Severe Malnutrition
Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado

Mark S. Komrad
Faculty of Psychiatry
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Tulane, and University of Maryland

Paul Appelbaum
Dollard Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine & Law
Columbia University

Ronald W. Pies
Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry
SUNY Upstate Medical University

Annette Hanson
Assistant Professor
University of Maryland

Catherine Cook-Cotton
Licensed Psychologist, Professor and Researcher
University at Buffalo (SUNY)

Anita Federici
Clinical Psychologist
Center for Psychology and Emotion Regulation

Hope Virgo
Founder of #DumptheScales, Author,
Mental Health Campaigner

Ali Ibrahim
Consultant Psychiatrist, Eating Disorders

Suzanne Baker
Family & Carer Representative, FEAST UK

Marissa Adams
Peer Research & Expert by Experience

References
1. Looi, M. K. (2024). Assisted dying laws around the world. bmj, 387.
2. Roff, C., & Cook-Cottone, C. (2024). Assisted death in eating disorders: a systematic review of cases and clinical rationales. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1431771.
3. Gaudiani, J. L., Bogetz, A., & Yager, J. (2022). Terminal anorexia nervosa: three cases and proposed clinical characteristics. Journal of eating disorders, 10(1), 23.
4. Downs, J., Ayton, A., Collins, L., Baker, S., Missen, H., & Ibrahim, A. (2023). Untreatable or unable to treat? Creating more effective and accessible treatment for long-standing and severe eating disorders. The Lancet Psychiatry, 10(2), 146-154.
5. Robison M, Udupa NS, Abber SR, Duffy A, Riddle M, Manwaring J, Rienecke RD, Westmoreland P, Blalock DV, Le Grange D, Mehler PS, Joiner TE. "Terminal anorexia nervosa" may not be terminal: An empirical evaluation. J Psychopathol Clin Sci. 2024 Apr;133(3):285-296. doi: 10.1037/abn0000912. PMID: 38619462; PMCID: PMC11062513.
6. Westmoreland P, Krantz MJ, Mehler PS. Medical Complications of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. Am J Med. 2016 Jan;129(1):30-7. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.06.031. Epub 2015 Jul 10. PMID: 26169883.
7. Stahle F. Notarized Questions to Oregon Health Authority. January 2018. Available online: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XopTDjBA2SAVBGBxpDazNN899eTHixSe/view
8. Oregon Health Authority. Oregon Death with Dignity Act: 2021 Data Summary (2022). Available online at: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PROVIDERPARTNERRESOURCES/EVALUATIONRESEARC...
9. Leadbeater K. Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Nov 11, 2024. https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3774 [Accessed 14th November 2024].
10. Van Elburg, A., Danner, U. N., Sternheim, L. C., Lammers, M., & Elzakkers, I. (2021). Mental capacity, decision-making and emotion dysregulation in severe enduring anorexia nervosa. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 545317.
11. Elzakkers, I. F. F. M., Danner, U. N., Grisso, T., Hoek, H. W., & van Elburg, A. A. (2018). Assessment of mental capacity to consent to treatment in anorexia nervosa: A comparison of clinical judgment and MacCAT-T and consequences for clinical practice. International journal of law and psychiatry, 58, 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2018.02.001
12. Oregon Health Authority. Oregon Death with Dignity Act: 2023 Data Summary (2024). Available online at: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PROVIDERPARTNERRESOURCES/EVALUATIONRESEARC...
13. Raikin, A. (2024). A pattern of non-compliance. The New Atlantis. 11 November 2024.
14. Cave, E., & Tan, J. (2017). Severe and enduring anorexia nervosa in the England and Wales Court of Protection. International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law, 23(17).

Netherlands woman (33) dies by euthanasia based on anorexia

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Esther Beukema with her mother.

Poppy Bilberbeck wrote an article that was published by Unilad.com on November 4 about the Netherlands euthanasia death of Esther Beukema (33) who died on December 10, 2021. Beukema was approved for euthanasia based on mental illness. Her condition was anorexia.

Bilberbeck's article describes Beukema's euthanasia death for 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 states that there was no other choice, when euthanasia is done for mental illness, and in this case for 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'.

For people with anorexia there is always a reasonable alternative.

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.

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.

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.

The statement by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders (ANAD) in June 2024 concerning euthanasia and anorexia stated:

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.

Landmark study: Assisted death for eating disorders.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

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. Both authors are experts in the treatment of eating disorders (EDs).

Chelsea Roff recovered from
a serious eating disorder

The authors provided a systematic review of cases of euthanasia or assisted suicide for eating disorders by examining the assisted dying reports from jurisdictions that have legalized euthanasia and/or assisted suicide. The authors use the term assisted death because it encapsulates both euthanasia, the act of the physician or nurse, and assisted suicide, the prescribing of the lethal drugs whereby the person must self-administer.

The authors uncover at least 60 cases of assisted death based on eating disorders. There may be many more but countries, such as Canada, don't publish data that would enable them to uncover all of the assisted deaths for eating disorders.

Join the EPC webinar on August 9: Assisted Death for Eating Disorders with Chelsea Roff.

EPC is hosting a webinar: Assisted Death and Eating Disorders with Chelsea Roff on Friday August 9 at 11 am (ET).

Register for the Zoom webinar in advance. (Registration Link).

Chelsea Roff

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information for joining the meeting.

Chelsea Roff is the co-author on a recent study on Assisted Death and Eating Disorders published by Frontiers in Psychiatry on July 30, 2024 which examined 60 known cases of euthanasia or assisted suicide for eating disorders.

During the webinar, Roff will discuss the cases that she researched for the study, she will discuss why eating disorders are not terminal, she will tell her own story, and she will explain how she helps people recover from eating disorders. We will leave time for questions.

Roff is the founder of Eat Breathe Thrive, which is an organization that helps people recovery from eating disorders. Roff herself recovered from anorexia.

Register for the Zoom event in advance. (Registration Link).

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information for joining the meeting.

Further information on this topic:

• 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).

At Least 60 People with Eating Disorders Euthanized or Assisted in Suicide since 2012

This article was published by National Review online on August 1, 2024.

Register for the August 9 webinar: Assisted Death for Eating Disorders (Link).

By Wesley J Smith

“Strict guidelines protect against abuse” my left nostril.

Wesley Smith

A very disturbing — but, alas, unsurprising — report has been published from a review of medical studies that demonstrates that at least 60, but almost surely more, people with eating disorders (EDs) have been euthanized or assisted in suicide between 2012 and 2024. From the long, meticulously researched and thoroughly detailed study published by Frontiers in Psychiatry  (citations omitted):

We identified 10 peer-reviewed articles and 20 government reports describing at least 60 patients with EDs who underwent assisted dying between 2012 and 2024 (Table 4). Note that this figure does not represent the total number of patients with EDs who have undergone assisted dying in countries where it is legal. It represents only those which were identifiable via the limited data available in public reports.

This includes at least three patients from the U.S.:

One case study has been published in the United States (2), which described three patients, two of whom were prescribed MAiD. . . .

Of the 78 data reports reviewed from U.S. states where assisted dying is only legal for terminal conditions, which report on a total of 11,983 cases, none include reporting on psychiatric conditions. Only one report mentions an ED specifically. Oregon’s Death with Dignity Report noted that seven individuals were prescribed MAiD for Other Illnesses, of which anorexia was listed as an example condition in the footnote. It is unclear how many of those seven deaths were persons with anorexia.

All of the descriptive cases reported were of women:

Of the 60+ cases identified across all studies and reports, 19 included descriptive case summaries with information about the patients and the clinical rationales that were used to justify assisted death. All 19 patients were women. Specifically, 32% were under the age of 30 (N = 6), 37% were between the ages of 30 and 50 (N = 7), and 31% were over 50 years old (N = 6). 61% (N = 11) had been diagnosed with anorexia, one person was described as obese (but her ED was not specified), and 28% (N = 5) had EDs (but the specific diagnoses were not identified).

Most had other mental illnesses:

All but one person described in the case reports had multiple comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. Rates of comorbidity were high; 95% had more than one psychiatric disorder, 61% had more than three, and nearly a quarter had four or more comorbid conditions (Table 6). Specifically, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were common, occurring in 33% and 37% of cases respectively. One patient was described as having a mild intellectual disability, and 16% of patients (N = 3) had autism spectrum disorder. Nearly half of patients were diagnosed with at least one personality disorder.

Good grief. How might those mental disorders have affected these poor people’s ability to “choose” to be killed or kill themselves?

Also, the meaning of “terminal illness” was redefined to justify life terminations (my emphasis in bold):

In cases in the United States, where a terminal prognosis is a legal prerequisite for assisted death, authors asserted that ED patients prescribed MAiD had terminal conditions. . . .

Notably, this conception of terminality deviates from medical definitions of a terminal condition, by describing reversible cognitive behaviors (thoughts, thinking patterns, cognitive distortions) as indicators of a terminal illness (i.e., an understanding that treatment is futile, choosing to stop trying, and accepting death). Medical texts describe the terminal phase of an illness as a period of inexorable and irreversible decline leading to death, with no expectation of recovery and a survival prognosis of only months or less. Unlike cancer or Alzheimer’s disease, most medical complications associated with anorexia can be treated with adequate nutritional intake and weight restoration, even in severely emaciated patients. Furthermore, cognitive and emotional symptoms associated with anorexia, such as despair and cognitive distortions, also improve with effective treatment.

There is only one way to describe these cases: abandonment.

That’s certainly how 40 disability-rights, psychological, aging-advocacy, and anti-assisted-suicide organizations see it. From their Joint Statement against Assisted Suicide for Eating Disorders:

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.

Moreover:

People with eating disorders need access to evidence-based and inclusive treatment, not lethal medications. Poor outcomes, including deaths, are nearly always preventable.

Indeed.

Please stop buying the demonstrable nonsense that the legalization of assisted suicide would be a minor change in ethics. Once the legalization train leaves the station, it is no longer containable or controllable. Or, to put it another way, once a society decides that killing is an acceptable answer to human suffering, the category of “killables” never stops expanding.

Joint Statement Against Assisted Suicide for Eating Disorders

Register for the August 9 webinar: Assisted Death for Eating Disorders (Link).

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition signed the Joint Statement Against Assisted Suicide for Eating Disorders 

(Link to the Eat Breathe Thrive Joint Statement)

We, the below signatories, urge governments everywhere to take immediate action to address the unethical practice of assisted suicide for individuals with eating disorders. This practice undermines decades of research on effective treatments and endangers the lives of vulnerable individuals.

A recent study revealing at least sixty published cases of assisted suicide and euthanasia among patients with eating disorders in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States, raises significant public safety concerns. A third of the cases involved young people in their teens and twenties, some of whom had never received comprehensive treatment before they were assisted in suicide. This highlights a tragic failure of healthcare systems, legal safeguards, and a grave violation of physicians’ ethical duty to do no harm.

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.

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 urge policymakers, healthcare providers, and the broader community to take immediate action by doing the following:

1. Prevent Assisted Suicide for Eating Disorders: Legally prevent eating disorders from being considered qualifying conditions for assisted suicide.
2. Strengthen Oversight and Reporting: Ensure reporting on assisted death includes psychiatric conditions. Establish review boards and create clear pathways for members of the public, officials, and healthcare professionals to investigate and report violations.
3. Amend Existing Safeguards: Review the existing safeguards on assisted suicide to ensure that eligibility terms like ‘terminal condition,’ ‘mental capacity,’ and ‘irremediable condition’ are clearly and operationally defined by law.
4. Increase Access to Eating Disorder Treatment: Invest in improving access to high-quality, timely treatment for eating disorders, focusing on long-term recovery and support.
5. Increase Research Funding: Invest in research to develop more effective treatments for eating disorders, particularly for individuals with severe and chronic conditions.

Link to become a signatory (Link).

Further information on this topic:

• 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).