Overview
- Turner signed an open letter coordinated by Eat Breathe Thrive, co-signed by Mind, Gail Porter and Stephanie Waring, urging the House of Lords to halt the legislation.
- The letter warns the bill could make some people with eating disorders eligible for an assisted death during periods when they cannot access or accept treatment.
- The draft law covers terminally ill adults with a prognosis under six months and requires approval by two doctors plus a panel including a social worker, a senior legal professional and a psychiatrist.
- While the bill states eligibility cannot rest solely on voluntarily stopping eating or drinking, the Royal College of Psychiatrists wants an explicit bar on using the physical effects of mental disorders as a basis for eligibility.
- Peers are in detailed committee scrutiny with nearly 1,000 amendments under consideration, and campaigners cite limited US cases to question whether safeguards go far enough.