Image – Shutterstock: Sophie Turner in 2019
Game of Thrones actress, Sophie Turner, has appealed to members of the House of Lords to pause the Assisted Suicide Bill, warning that it could put people with eating disorders at grave risk. Turner, who has previously spoken about her own struggles with an eating disorder, said the Bill should be halted because it “could make individuals with eating disorders eligible for assisted death at times when they are unable to access or accept treatment.”
Turner is not alone in raising the alarm. She is joined by TV personality Gail Porter, former Hollyoaks actress Stephanie Waring, and several leading mental health organisations, including Mind. All have signed an open letter coordinated by the eating disorder charity Eat, Breathe, Thrive, urging Parliament to reconsider the dangers inherent in the Terminally Ill Adults Bill.
The letter highlights the disturbing experiences of countries where assisted suicide or euthanasia is already available. In these jurisdictions women with eating disorders have had their lives ended under legislation similar to the proposals now being considered in England & Wales. Many of these cases involved people whose conditions had become critical not because they were terminally ill, but because they had not received consistent, specialist treatment.
Research led by Chelsea Roff, of Eat, Breathe, Thrive, identified at least sixty individuals with eating disorders who underwent assisted dying between 2012 and 2024 in countries with legal assisted suicide or euthanasia. These patients were not condemned to die by their illnesses. Instead, they were failed by systems that did not provide the sustained therapeutic support required to bring them back to health. The letter warns that under the current draft of the Bill, people suffering dangerous complications from starvation, vomiting, or insulin manipulation could be assessed as terminal, even though recovery is possible with proper care.
These concerns land as the House of Lords continues its scrutiny of the Bill. Almost one thousand amendments have already been tabled, which is close to a Parliamentary record. During Second Reading, most Peers who expressed a clear view opposed the legislation, with many citing fears about its impact on vulnerable groups.
John Deighan, CEO of SPUC, says, “Compassion will never mean offering death to those who are despairing. This proposed law is fraught with dangers and will never be fit for purpose. I join with Sophie Turner in asking peers to defeat this Bill.”
If you’re reading this and haven’t yet donated to SPUC, please consider helping now. Thank You!
