Bid to rule our anorexia from Assisted Suicide Bill rejected

MPs have rejected proposals to prevent people with anorexia from accessing Assisted Suicide under Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, despite concerns being raised from a number of charities which help people with eating disorders.

The Bill, which passed Second Reading on 30 November 2024, is currently undergoing Committee stage, a process in which a committee of MPs debates the bill on a line-by-line basis and potential amendments to legislation.

The Bill has been the subject of much criticism, particularly over the definition of terminal illness; currently someone would only be able to access Assisted Suicide if they were a consenting adult over 18 years old, and had a terminal illness which meant that they had under 6 months to live, according to a doctor's prognosis.

However, in other jurisdictions around the world, this has meant Assisted Suicides being greenlit for conditions which would not normally be thought of as terminal illness, including diabetes, arthritis and anorexia.

Labour MP Naz Shah proposed an amendment which would have clarified that someone who “would not otherwise” qualify as terminally ill “shall not be considered to meet those requirements as a result of stopping eating or drinking.”

She told MPs: “If we wish to protect people with anorexia and other eating disorders, we must rewrite this Bill...

“I must underline, this is not a hypothetical point. It is not some clever objection that has been dreamed up without reference to the real world. It has actually happened. It has happened not once, but dozens of times in countries that have assisted dying.”

The amendment was rejected by 15 votes to eight.

Chelsea Roff, founder of Eat Breathe Thrive, a US charity, said: “We are extremely disappointed that the committee has chosen not to close the loopholes in this Bill that put people with anorexia at risk.”

When previously giving evidence to the Committee, Roff had warned that assisted dying laws abroad have already enabled at least 60 patients with anorexia to end their lives.

She commented: “The international evidence is clear – assisted dying laws have already been exploited to help young women with eating disorders die... Even when presented with that evidence, some members of the committee have chosen to ignore it.”

Tom Quinn of Beat, the UK’s leading eating disorder charity, said they were “very disappointed”, adding: “Eating disorders should never be classified as terminal.” Gemma Oaten, CEO of Support and Empathy for People with Eating Disorders, said: “Once again, those struggling with eating disorders are being overlooked.”

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has also called for amendments to explicitly exclude the physical effects of mental illness as grounds for assisted dying.