Sophie Turner warns assisted dying invoice may result in individuals with consuming issues taking their very own lives even once they may be capable of recuperate
Sophie Turner fears the assisted dying bill could harm people suffering from eating disorders as she called on peers to ‘pause’ on plans for legislation.
The Game of Thrones actress is fronting a fresh campaign from mental health charities amid fears the law would pose a ‘serious risk’ to eating disorder patients.
Turner, 29, spoke out as the House of Lords continues to debate the bill which could see assisted dying legalised for terminally ill adults in England and Wales.
Nearly 1,000 amendments have been put forward for The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – the highest number ever tabled to a piece of backbench legislation.
Turner signed an open letter alongside TV presenter Gail Porter and former Hollyoaks star Stephanie Waring – with all three having suffered eating disorders.
The letter said the bill ‘could make individuals with eating disorders eligible for assisted death at times when they are unable to access or accept treatment’.
It added: ‘Many young people who could recover with effective care might instead receive lethal medication during a period of despair.’
The letter was coordinated by Eat Breathe Thrive, an organisation which helps people recover from eating disorders, and was signed by mental health charity Mind.
Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner has issued a warning over the assisted dying bill
Turner signed a letter with TV presenter Gail Porter (left) and actress Stephanie Waring (right)
According to the Telegraph, evidence was cited from the US that women with eating disorders have already been granted assisted deaths under laws very similar to Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s.
Among those was a 36-year-old from Colorado called Jessica who had anorexia and depression. The letter claimed her doctor deemed her illness incurable after she became unable to increase her nutritional intake, and prescribed her lethal drugs.
‘According to her family, she repeatedly said she did not want to die but could not continue living as she was,’ the letter said, claiming that at least 60 anorexic women died in a similar way.
The letter said they ‘were not individuals who were inevitably dying, but individuals whose illnesses had become life-threatening in the absence of effective treatment’.
Addressing peers, it concluded: ‘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.’
Turner has previously spoken about suffering from bulimia as a teenage star amid pressure from studio bosses to lose weight, which even saw a therapist live with her to manage her eating while filming.
The bill was narrowly approved by MPs in the House of Commons in June, and received an unopposed second reading in the Lords in September.
The campaign for the bill has received high-profile support from Dame Esther Rantzen
Peers in the House of Lords debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill last Friday
Pro-assisted dying campaigners outside the Houses of Parliament in September
This is the furthest any such legislation on assisted dying has progressed through Parliament at Westminster.
However the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally has previously said she and her Church of England colleagues are likely to bring an amendment to vote on the principle of the Bill, which she will vote against.
If the bill does pass into law, the Government has four years in which to get an assisted dying service into place, meaning it could be 2029/30 before the first assisted death happens.
The legislation proposes allowing terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death. This would be subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.
The campaign for the bill has received its most high-profile celebrity support from 85-year-old TV presenter Dame Esther Rantzen, who has terminal cancer.
