Chelsea Roff
@ChelseaRoff
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Executive Director of Eat Breathe Thrive, a nonprofit serving people with eating disorders. Engaged in research & policy on risks AD laws pose to our community
Joined March 2012
People with eating disorders would qualify as terminally ill under this bill, as written. For those who want a quick summary of our research, here are the key points I did not have time to cover today. đ§ľđ.
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"My session was interrupted by Leadbeater explaining to the committee that I and other witnesses didn't understand the nature of suicide in life-limiting physical illness.". â Prof @AllanOHouse, in letter to the @guardian
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1/ Today in Parliament, I referenced Court of Protection cases where young women's eating disorders were described as âterminal," "end-stage," and ânot treatable." . Here are the receipts. đ§ľđ #AssistedDying.
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Some reflections on giving evidence in Parliament yesterday. A very intimidating forum to present research, but overall, the committee was respectful and civilâthough, at times, painfully unaware of the international evidence on this and even the wording of the bill itself. đ§ľâŹď¸.
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This is already happening. Our study included a woman in her 30s with anorexia and depression who was euthanised in the Netherlands. Before her death, she said she was âhappy to improve anotherâs life by donating her organs.â. People who feel they are unworthy of life are at.
Organ donation after assisted dying is likely if @kimleadbeater's bill is passed. Nearly 1/3rd of Dutch donors after assisted deaths had mental health issues. The current bill allows co-existing mental illness.= bias in both patients and doctors.
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1/ In todayâs committee, witnesses with no expertise in eating disorders made inaccurate statements that went unchecked & unchallenged. MPs and the public were misled about the risks this bill poses to people with eating disorders. Letâs look at the facts. đ§ľđ
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There's big money in assisted death. Dying with Dignity Canada, now a multimillion-dollar charity, has received hundreds of thousands in government funding since legalisation. We asked Prof. Sheehy about the financial incentives driving the push to expand assisted dying laws âŹď¸
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How much collateral damage are MPs willing to accept to pass this #AssistedDyingBill?. Yesterday, a witness inaccurately dismissed the deaths of 60+ women with anorexia as âjust one or two cases.â. I wonder, if it were her daughter, would she still call it a minor issue?.
It appears we are preparing to accept the idea that a few âwrongâ deaths is worth it for this scheme. We wouldnât make this argument about the death penalty. âTerminal anorexiaâ is highly contested. Many women simply do not get the support they need to live. Very worrying.
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3/ I don't mind being addressed by my first name, but as a colleague pointed out to me yesterday â it was notable that the men on either side of me were not addressed by theirs'.
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1/ Women are dying under assisted dying laws at rates that should alarm us allâbut few are paying attention. Why are women disproportionately affected? What does it say about our views on illness, disability, and care?. We've started a podcast to talk about it âŹď¸ đ§ľ.
"All the cases we identified were women". NEW: Assisted Death and Women podcast đ§ . For a change this momentous, we need debate on how this could affect us all.
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The Netherlands is reporting a sixfold increase in deaths by euthanasia among adults under 30 since 2020. Euthanasia deaths for psychological suffering alone have surged 60% â after years of 1â2% annual increases. Heartbreaking, and not dissimilar from the cases in our study.
This seems like something which should inform our discussions in this country too.
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6/ I worry that political allegiances and past statements may keep some MPs from listening to the evidence with an open mind. But it is never too late to change your mind if new facts come to light. I did. Thatâs the whole point of scrutiny.
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4/ Even when the evidence and data was presented, some responded with assurances that it wonât happen here or expressed confidence in the billâs safeguards âwithout having looked at the data or closely examined what the bill says. This bill is too consequential a bill for that.
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2/ I thought it was an interesting choice to put a woman speaking about the deaths of women on a panel with only men â some of whom were all too quick to dismiss concerns that this bill could lead to similar deaths of women in this country.
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5/ And that is exactly what the committee needs to do. Look at the words on the page. Ask: Could this be misinterpreted in a way that puts vulnerable people at risk? . If similar laws have led to the deaths of young women w/ eating disorders elsewhere, could it happen here?.
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Today, hundreds of MPs walked past those absurd ads of women dancing in their pajamas, past disabled people protesting in the cold for their right to liveâand voted for the #AssistedDyingBill anyway. Watch @thelizcarr brilliantly explain what they overlooked.
âIâm shocked a Labour government would do thisâŚand make this one of the first things they do.â . âDo you blame the Prime Minister for that?â. âOf courseâŚâ. Christian Fraser speaks to actor and campaigner Liz Carr in the moments after MPs backed proposals to legalise assisted
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The question before MPs now is: how many deaths are they willing to accept as collateral damage?. My letter to the editor in todayâs @Telegraph
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The committee cannot make informed decisions based on false information. I respectfully request @kimleadbeater and the committee formally correct the record to reflect the facts.
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A striking exchange with @KimLeadbeater, who once again brushed aside concerns that young people with eating disorders could die as a result of her bill. The committee has seen the evidence. They know the risks. Yet they chose to leave these loopholes wide open for exploitation.
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Congrats to the one and only @thelizcarr, whose brilliant documentary sparked a national conversation about the insidious prejudice disabled people still face everday â and the danger of laws that enable the ending of lives deemed less worth living.
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1/ In todayâs committee, @kitmalthouse confidently told @NazShahBfd she was wrong about anorexia and the courtsâwhen in fact, she was correct. He suggested courts have almost always ordered force-feeding in anorexia cases. The truth? They has almost never done so. Receipts
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Today, every single amendment backed by eating disorder experts and charities was rejected by the committee. Grateful to @NazShahBfd, @danny__kruger & others who spoke powerfully about the realities our community faces in the NHS. Ironically, an MP speaking against the
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âItâs not a choice at all.â. Baroness @Tanni_GT warns that #AssistedDying could leave disabled women in abusive relationships more vulnerable â especially in a system that often dismisses abuse by carers and family members.
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1/ This bill is said to have the strongest safeguards in the world. Does it?. Unlike Oregon & California, it only requires that a person has mental capacityâ it does not ask whether mental distress or social factors are driving their wish to die. @AllanOHouse was brilliant.
5. Pro-Bill MPs very hostile to the idea that mental state might be relevant. Also continuing their hostility towards psychiatrists (remember they blocked Royal College of Psychiatrists initially). They want things to be black and white. Grey cannot be tolerated.
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In every one of the 60+ cases where a person w/ an eating disorder died by assisted death, doctors ruled they had capacity to end their life. Today, many MPs argued that an assessment of capacity is an adequate safeguard. The evidence suggests otherwise. Read these cases: âŹď¸.
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Brilliant column from @HadleyFreeman, capturing the complacency of a committee that failed to pass a single safeguard to stop those with anorexia from qualifying for âdeath by state.â. âOffering an anorexic assisted death is like offering her liposuctionâher desire for it is a
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The Impact Assessments are out. Not a single mention of eating disorders or anorexia. Our study documented 60+ assisted deaths of women with eating disorders abroad â including in three jurisdictions cited as comparable to this bill. Why the silence?.
Neither the IA nor Equality IA reflect on the impact of enabling those with eating disorders to access assisted dying. 75% of people with eating disorders are women.
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Our study found at least 60 people with eating disorders have died by assisted death internationally, including in jurisdictions where it is only allowed for terminal conditions. A third were in their teens or twenties. 2/3 under 40. 100% were women.
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3/ Our study found at least 60 people w/ eating disorders who were assisted in death â including in Oregon, California, and Colorado. In addition, we identified 25 cases in California and Colorado where severe malnutrition was listed as the qualifying terminal condition.
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Itâs remarkable that this is being framed as if a social worker, psychiatrist, and lawyer will assess the person requesting assisted death. In reality, no one on the assisted death panel even has to meet the patient, and the judge isnât directly involved at all.
The amendment states that the panel doesnât have to meet the patient. Not even online. So how exactly is the psychiatrist going to verify capacity? And how exactly is the social worker going to verify absence of coercion? Are the 50 signatories aware of this?.
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These were women who needed support, not lethal medications. 89% were depressed. 58% were described as suicidal. 37% had previously attempted suicide. 61% had 3+ mental disorders. Yet in many cases, the clinicians stated their wish to die was not emerging from mental illness.
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These cases show how eating disorders have already been treated as terminal and irreversible in the Court of Protection. Judges have ruled, on this basis, to withdraw life-saving treatment and move to palliative care. This isnât a hypothetical risk. Itâs already happening.
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Some of the most respected experts in eating disordersâ including senior doctors and professors from Johns Hopkins and RCPsych â wrote this letter. Their concerns were ignored.
Kim Leadbeater and the eating disorders experts: a timeline. 1. Nov 14: 18 experts, including the leadership of the Royal College of Psychiatristsâ ED Faculty, warn that the billâs definitionâdespite appearancesâcould apply to eating disorders. âIt fails the public safety test.â
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In short: There is so little oversight in the U.S. that it is not possible to determine how many people with eating disorders have died by assisted death. Yet today, witnesses dismissed the deaths of real human beings as âjust one or two cases.â. Why was this not factchecked?
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2/ @DrNaomiRichards, an anthropologist and researcher in 'end of life studies', told the committee: . âThe numbers are really tiny. youâre talking one or two people in the history of assisted dying⌠itâs a very minor issue.â. This is false.
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The bill has not yet passed, and we are already seeing efforts to walk back the six-month prognosis "safeguard.". This paired with the option for âa person in good standing in the communityâ to act as a proxy and sign off on a person's assisted death is very concerning.
We said the assisted dying bill would be a slippery slope - that it wouldnât stay at 6mo to live, and a terminal illness. Now members of the bill committee are putting forward an amendment to make it 12mo to live where there is a neurodegenerative condition
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I was in this meeting and noticed halfway through that there was a staffer in the corner, furiously taking notes. The sensitivity of the discussion was clear. If Kim was truly âkeen to engage with and listen to colleagues,â her team should have made their presence known or
In todayâs @times, @sarahditum reveals how a private, invitation only, sensitive discussion - dealing with womenâs experiences of coercion and abuse and risks of the Leadbeater bill - was monitored without participantsâ knowledge by Kimâs staff. @JamillaHussain1 was present.
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At some point, failing to engage with evidence stops being oversight and becomes a deliberate choice. Anorexia isnât treated in a utopiaâitâs treated in the NHS. As @danny__kruger points out, we've already seen doctors opine that young women with anorexia have irreversible and.
âItâs very important that this committee doesnât get too hung up on anorexiaâŚâ. Said by an MP on the assisted suicide/dying bill committee this afternoon to @NazShahBfd who tried with @danny__kruger to get an amendment agreed to protect patients with eating disorders
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1/ Powerful segment on @BBCWomansHour this morning. In May 2023, a young woman with anorexia was described in the Court of Protection as "untreatable" and in the "pre-death stage" of her illness.
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âOur view is that the bill is irredeemably flawed and not fit to become law.â. A group of Labour MPs are sounding the alarm after the committee failed to strengthen safeguards and address major risks to public safety.
Along with other Labour colleagues I have written to MPs today following the conclusion of the Assisted Dying Bill's Committee Stage to outline why this Bill remains irredeemably flawed and unfit to become law.
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Canada promised #assisteddying would be rare and only for the terminally ill. Now itâs the 5th leading cause of deathâand soon, lethal injections will be offered to those with âtreatment-resistantâ mental disorders. To say this could never happen in the UK is naive.
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Lest we forget, we are talking about a bill that would allow for the provision of lethal drugs to end a personâs life. And the sponsor of the bill thinks the âsafeguardsâ in the codes of practice should be optional? đł.
Listen to @danny__krugerâs speech imploring members of the committee to AT LEAST make compliance with the codes of practice obligatory - for the sake of PUBLIC SAFETY. No, says Kim Leadbeater, I trust all doctors to behave appropriately and want them to have âflexibilityâ. đł
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Yesterday, the committee rejected every amendment that could have stopped people with eating disorders from qualifying for assisted death â ignoring all expert evidence submitted on this topic. One MP stated he reviewed the evidence over his lunch break. Despite calls from.
đ¨NEW: Anorexia patients could access assisted dying after MPs reject bid to close loophole, charities warn. @beatED @ChelseaRoff @HopeVirgo âextremely disappointedâ Leadbeaterâs committee voted down @NazShahBfdâs amendment aimed to exclude sufferers. đ
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I can already see how this would play out in eating disorder services. A 17-year-old is told they have a âsevere and enduringâ eating disorder, âtreatment is futile,â and their âprognosis is poor.â If they donât increase calories, their death is âlikely within six months.â.
Shockingly, the Westminster bill allows doctors to *suggest* assisted dying to under 18s. Listen to this extraordinary @nmdacosta interview on the rushed bill before MPs
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We asked Professor Isabel Grant about the claim that Canadaâs experience with assisted dying is irrelevant to the bill before Parliament. Her response: âWe were told the same thing about Belgium.â. She explains how safeguards were soon seen as barriers â and the law expanded âŹď¸
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The concept of âterminal anorexiaâ was developed to enable people with eating disorders to die by assisted death. Framing the symptoms of a treatable mental illness as an informed choice to die reflects a profound misunderstanding of anorexia. As @ProfLAppleby notes, respect
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Yesterday in Parliament, I discussed how the terminal illness safeguard has been made meaningless in the USâ where doctors now frame dehydration and malnutrition as âan incurable and irreversible disease.â. The same could happen under the UK bill. Hereâs why. đ§ľđ.
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I am hearing a lot of âfor it in principle, but not this billâ this week. Turns out, drafting laws that give the state power to help people end their lives is harder than it seems.
i am, philosophically and personally, pro-euthanasia. i had to watch my father die slowly over the course of 14 hours after he asked for (and was, of course refused) a quick death. this bill, however, is shaping up to be a complete travesty, and i cannot support it.
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There is currently no safeguard in the #AssistedDyingBill to prevent this from happening here. MPs must look closely at what is written in the bill and the international evidence. Laws expand through interpretation, not just amendment.
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Oh, it's only just a few deaths. just a few people with eating disorders, nothing to worry about. Is it though?.
Are only a tiny number of anorexic women given assisted death in models like the one proposed in the UK? And does it matter? . After @NazShahBfds question (and the response) in Assisted Dying Bill Committee, we give this issue some of the time it needs in upcoming Ep 2 of
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If a paper hadn't been published to tell the world that these young women had died by assisted death â and in fact, propose a new clinical category ("terminal anorexia") â we would have had no way of knowing this was happening.
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This is what happens when safeguards are dismissed as barriers. In the Netherlands, young people aged 16+ do not even need parental consent to die by euthanasia.
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4/ But the total number of deaths remains unverified. Oversight agencies in California, Colorado, and Oregon confirmed that patients with eating disorders had died by assisted deathâbut would not disclose how many.
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âPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind" â George Orwell.
Excellent point by @Rebecca_SPaul: MPs should not be squeamish about using the term #suicide when they are dealing with the #Leadbeaterbill. #assisteddying=#assistedsuicide
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We found eating disorder deaths were categorised in vague classifications like âOther Illnessesâ in state reports. If a physician hadn't published case reports about it, no one outside oversight agencies would have even known these deaths occurred.
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2/ In the UK, courts have already ruled that lifesaving treatment can be withdrawn from young women w/ eating disorders when clincians have presented their condition as "terminal" or irreversible . These cases were framed as a false dichotomy: forced feeding or inevitable death.
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We found stark gaps in oversight. In CO, CA, & OR, officials confirmed anorexia has been listed by name as a qualifying terminal illness â but not how many had died. In CA & CO, no mention of anorexia in state reports. Cases were in the vague "Other Illnesses" category.
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Case 3: A 23-year-old woman with anorexia was described as in the "pre-death stage" of her illness and "not treatable." . She is still alive and fighting for access to eating disorder services. Her MP recently advocated for her care in the Commons:
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1/ Some academics are advising patients on how to circumvent the terminal illness criteria in assisted dying lawsâby refusing food and water until they become âterminal.â. This is already happening in the U.S. The bill before Parliament contains the same loophole. A thread đ§ľ.
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What do we know about the women who died?. 37% had PTSD. 48% diagnosed with a personality disorder. 16% autism spectrum disorder. 32% were engaging in self-injury.
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Alicia Duncanâs mother died by assisted death just four hours after she was released from a psychiatric hospital, where she was hospitalised after attempting to take her own life. She has submitted written evidence to the committee. It has not yet been posted.
We think MPs should listen to what's gone wrong in Canada's assisted dying. Donna Duncan's story must be heard - told by her brave daughter Alicia. It's one of somersaulting horror - and state and professional failure of a fiercely independent woman.
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This committee has shown a remarkable lack of awareness about the state of eating disorder care in this country. This weekend, I visited a 25-year-old woman whose doctors convinced a judge to withdraw her treatment, calling her âuntreatableâ and in the âpre-death stage.â
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There is little empirical basis for predicting prognosis in eating disorders, but that has not stopped clinicians from doing so. 95% stated the person had an 'incurable,' 'irremediable,' or 'untreatable' eating disorder. 58% stated "according to prevailing medical opinion".
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Whatâs the point of line-by-line scrutiny if the only people with the votes to amend the bill think itâs fine as it is? . Legislative theatre at its finest.
If you want a quick read-out on how line-by-line scrutiny of the Assisted Dying Bill is going:. 1) All amendments not brought by Bill supporters are getting voted down 8-15 (I'm no mathematician but that's not exactly reflective of the 55% vote in favour at 2nd reading), (1/3).
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1/ Yesterday in Parliament, we from bereaved families, lawyers, clinicians, and people in recovery about how the #AssistedDyingBill could endanger people with eating disorders. Huge thanks to all the MPs, peers, and stakeholders who joined us. Hereâs what we heard đ§ľđ
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First impression on the Equality Impact Assessment. It frames death as a good to be accessed, with little consideration for how this could play out for people who are suicidal and need support.
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đ¨: Leading charities and advocates have written to MPs urging them to close dangerous loopholes in the #AssistedDying bill that put people with eating disorders at risk. Anorexia is not a terminal condition. Yet under this bill, a person with anorexia could be given lethal
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The assisted dying bill has been sold as having the strongest safeguards in the world. Yet, unlike Oregon, it does not contain any provisions for a mental health assessment â not even if there are indications of a mental disorder. Was this merely an oversight or a choice?.
The Assisted Billâs default presumption is that thoughts to end oneâs life in the context of terminal illness is not due or linked to mental illness. This is another example of stigma faced by people with mental illness. The Bill must include a mandatory psychiatric assessment.
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Many warn that legalising assisted death will undermine suicide preventionâespecially for those with life-limiting conditions. But sometimes, it doesnât hit home until you hear a real story. Prof. @LeonieHerx shares how a psychiatry referral was turned into a MAiD assessment.
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"Is the patientâs request a kneejerk reaction to a new diagnosis that terrifies them? Have they been plunged into a suicidal depression that may swiftly pass? Might a desire to die be replaced by one to live, once they have received proper, patient-centred palliative care?".
âA âjudge plusâ panel is not an MDT, nor does it come close to being one, because no one on the panel knows the patient. Moreover, the panelâs scrutiny comes only at the end of the process, not at the beginningâ
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Suicide prevention is part our healthcare system. So where do we draw the line between AD & AS? If someone is âdying already,â do they no longer deserve suicide prevention?. The wording of this bill will set that boundary â and if thereâs room for interpretation, it will expand.
âThis is going to change our approach to suicide preventionâ - Prof Allan House, Emeritus Professor of Liaison Psychiatry
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Earlier this week, witnesses in Parliament dismissed concerns that women with eating disorders have died by assisted deathâcalling it âa minor issue.â. The reality? At least 60 women have died this way. In our latest Assisted episode, Dr. Catherine Cook-Cottone and I break down.
"I've watched people mortgage their house 3 times while they lose their kid". "Then to think there's a dr out there somewhere that says "come here, I'll give you this, listen to this story". Why assisted death of anorexic young women is not a minor issue. Listen to experts
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Our study found that 95% of people with eating disorders who died by assisted death were described by doctors as having an untreatable condition. MPs were shown this evidence â and still voted to reject every amendment that could have protected people with eating disorders.
Exactly the kind of situation described to the assisted dying bill committee: but one which Dr Simon Opher MP dismissed could arise. He urged MPs not to get âtoo hung upâ on anorexia. @BBCr4today @Emmabarnett .@JanetEastham @AgnesAyton
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The Orwellian use of language in this debate is chilling:. "Voluntary assisted dying is a form of suicide prevention.".
He doubled down on the 'suicide prevention' idea. I think. He said it again, anyway.
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This is not just about eating disorders. In Oregonâwhere the definition of terminal illness is similarâdiabetes, arthritis, hernias, and anorexia nervosa have all been listed as qualifying terminal conditions in official death reports.
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Leading psychiatrists warn there isn't enough capacity in the workforce to ensure every person who requests assisted death receives a psychiatric assessment. Why not consult @rcpsych before assigning the profession a central role in assisted death panels?
đľEXC: âNot enough psychiatristsâ to staff assisted dying panels. Leadbeater claims âseveral thousand psychiatristsâ are willing to do the work, but experts disagree. @Telegraph learnt she didnât consult @rcpsych before assigning the profession a key role.
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6/ Case 4: A 28 y/o woman with severe anorexia, where the physicians stated "her renal failure is terminal.". Judge ruled in best interests to be discharged into community. Kidney dysfunction in anorexia is treatable, even in severely emaciated patients:
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4/ Multiple physicians described her death as inevitable. (same case). Note the reference to the physician's medical expertise in the "physical and metabolic consequences of severe malnutrition.". Prognosis in eating disorders was discussed as if it is a certainty. Itâs not.
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âAnorexia acts as a Rorschach test for assisted dying campaigners⌠if helpers were to admit that the physical torment of a severe anorexic, as awful as it is, is not enough to make an assisted death justified, they might just have to rethink their whole model.â. Brilliant piece
I wrote for @unherd about two contradictory ethical ideals fuelling the campaign for Assisted Dying - and how anorexics fall down the slippery slope as a consequence
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A pharmacist and barrister has highlighted serious legal gaps in the regulation of drugs used in assisted death:. 1ď¸âŁ No legal mechanism for sale/supply of lethal drugs to doctors. 2ď¸âŁ Pharmacists could be criminally liable under the Suicide Act 1961. 3ď¸âŁ Conscience protections.
The drug sale and supply process for the Assisted Dying Bill has received very little if any parliamentary consideration. There are some serious problems with it which would need the help of lawyers and pharmacy experts to fix. @kimleadbeater . Before looking in detail at the.
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5/ Anorexia is a treatable illness, even when it becomes very severe â but sadly, it's not always treated that way in the NHS. That needs to change. Link to listen:
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3/ Case 1: L, a 29-year-old woman w/ anorexia described as in the "terminal stage of her illness". Trust sought a declaration medical treatment was not in her best interests. Clinicians said palliative care would ensure she "retains the greatest dignity" until she dies.
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Not a single amendment backed by eating disorder experts was accepted. Despite clear evidence of the risks, a majority of MPs on the committee refused to close loopholes that put people with eating disorders in danger. They know the evidence. They chose to dismiss it.
3. Feb 25: Dozens of charities and advocates sign a joint letter explaining that the billâs definitionâdespite appearancesâcould threaten people with eating disorders. They urge the committee to support Amendments 9, 10, 11, 48 and 402. All five are voted down that week.
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4/ Case 2: BG (2022) â A 19-year-old w/ anorexia and suicidality. Trust sought declaration it was in her best interests to withdraw treatment, including hydration & nutrition, acknowledging it would lead to death. The judge called it âas grave a decision as can be made."
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In written evidence to the committee, @rcpsych stated that 58% of psychiatrists would not be willing to participate in assisted death services, including capacity assessments. A serious concern for implementation.
The decisions will no longer be made by a High Court judge but by a panel (lawyer, social worker and psychiatrist). The fact a judge chairs the overall commission has nothing to do with who makes the decision. The Bill was sold as the safest based on High Court. That's gone.
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One of the most dangerous aspects of the #AssistedDyingBill is that it allows those with incurable illnesses be deemed terminal if they refuse or canât access treatment, making death foreseeable w/in six months. Will this loophole in the 'safeguards' be addressed in committee?.
For every story of a terrible death (which should have been averted by better care) there are stories like these, from people who would be eligible for an 'assisted' death under the Bill being debated. From a constituent:
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Case 5: CC, a 21 year old woman with anorexia is described as having a "life expectancy not beyond 6 months". In this case, physicians asked the court whether the young woman had capacity to consent to treatment involving the hallucinogen Esketamine (not to withdraw treatment).
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Not a single Canadian witness was invited to testify before the committee. The notion that Canadaâs experience with assisted dying isnât relevant to the UK debate is misleading. Fortunately, some v nice Canadians have taken the time to explain why and what we should know âŹď¸.
Safeguards become 'barriers'. No one from Canada was invited to speak to our Assisted Dying bill committee. So we're speaking to experts on their disastrous MAID system, and they ALL had this to say. Now hear what the invited Australian assisted dying experts told parliament:
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A scathing indictment of the bill and the "dogâs breakfast of a process" that saw it emerge from committee with fewer safeguards than it started with:. âThe bill is not fit for purpose, its provisions a mess, and its journey through parliament an unconscionable waste of time.â.
The Times isnât pulling any punches. Whatever your views about the principle of assisted dying, this is no way to change the law on something so momentous. The dangerously flawed assisted dying legislation should be abandoned.
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𧾠1/ Could assisted dying for âterminal anorexiaâ be coming to the NHS?. Our research shows how legal loopholes in other countries have allowed young people w/ eating disorders to qualify for #assisteddying. Here's why MPs should be concerned đ
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1/ After another look at the #assisteddying bill, I take this back. It doesn't even require 2 physicians. "Coordinating doctorâ is defined as any âregistered medical practitioner, who has such training, qualifications and experience as the Secretary of State may specify.â đ§ľ.
"It only takes 2 physicians, in this #ADbill, to maintain an assisted death programme for eating disorders - and a judge rubber stamping it". @ChelseaRoff has already seen court cases where young UK women are decided to be terminally ill with anorexia- & the judge relies on the
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1/ Very important data here, which received little attention in committee. Assisted dying is often framed as a âgood death.â But how safe are the drug protocols?. The international data is worrying. âŹď¸đ§ľ.
Recent data from Dr. Jessica Kaan (who gave evidence in favour) which finds substantially prolonged deaths in US & discusses distressing complications that can happen during the dying process. Did not hear this asked about in #AssistedDying Committee
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We do appear to be going around in circles. Speaking to @Telegraph, Ms Leadbeater insisted that âanorexia would not qualify a person for assistance to shorten their lives.â. But as highlighted in last weekâs evidence session, mental disorders cannot be separated from their
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2/ Women are more likely to be disabled, chronically ill, and live in poverty. Theyâre more likely to face terminal illness alone, with less money and weaker support systems than men. They also make up 69-77% of those who die by euthanasia for reasons related to mental illness.
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âWe know from research by @OtherHalfOrg that 88% of unlawful assisted suicides in the UK are perpetrated by men against women.â. Chilling stats and a powerful piece by @Jess_Asato & Cherryl Henry-Leach of @STagainstDA_.
The Assisted Dying Bill needs more protections to prevent MPs from creating a new and legal way for domestic abuse perpetrators to abuse â and, ultimately, kill â their victims. write Labour MP @Jess4Lowestoft and @STagainstDA_'s Cherryl Henry-Leach
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The strategy with assisted dying laws always seems to be: push the bill through at any costâdeal with the consequences later. We touch on this in our latest episode of Assisted. đ˝ď¸âŹď¸ . Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts:
Women with anorexia have been given assisted deaths. But what happened when researchers uncovered this? 'Thanks' and a promise to pause? No, more like:. 'before we ban assisted dying for eating disorders, shouldn't we kind of see how things play out a bit'
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Thank you, @Rebecca_SPaul, for the courage, heart, and clarity you brought to this debate. You cut right to the core of whatâs at stake â precious human lives, deeply loved and worth fighting for.
"what would you want to happen if this were your daughter". MP @Rebecca_SPaul deeply frustrated at the Assisted Death bill committee's rejection of all additions to safeguards so far. Asks committee to imagine an anorexic girl refusing treatment.
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Itâs been profoundly moving to witness @NazShahBfdâs leadership over the past ten weeks. Rarely do we see a leader stand firmly and unapologetically in the ground of her own lived experience of suicide, speaking for those whose voices are often absent from the halls of power.
Naz Shah: âThe assisted dying bill is not fit for purposeâ - New Statesman. âI am scaredâ Shah told me âI do not want to be the person who says, âWe knew this was coming. We failed. We failed our society.â That is not what I want.â
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3/ Fiona and I both started out thinking assisted dying sounded progressive. Our views changed when we saw how often safeguards fail. Assisted unpacks the data and stories behind the numbers we're not talking about enough, asking what this means for womenâand for all of us.
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