Patients with anorexia nervosa would qualify for assisted suicide under Kim Leadbeater’s proposals, a leading eating disorder charity has warned. According to the National Institute for Health and Care and Excellence, over 725,000 people suffer from eating disorders in the UK. According to the study, US patients with eating disorders were prescribed lethal drugs based on the controversial “pseudo-diagnostic” label of “terminal anorexia”. In Belgium and the Netherlands, patients with eating disorders were considered eligible for euthanasia or assisted suicide on the grounds that their condition was deemed by medics to be ‘hopeless’ or ‘untreatable’. Signatories to the joint statement against assisted suicide for eating disorders said: “We categorically reject the argument that assisted suicide is a form of compassionate care for individuals with eating disorders.

Source: The Times November 22, 2024 08:36 UTC