A government expert in Canada argued in favor of euthanasia for eating disorders in a recent hearing.

Key Takeaways:

• Canada is on track to allow euthanasia for mental illness.

• At a recent government hearing, experts argued that people should be able to undergo euthanasia for eating disorders.

• People in Canada have been approved for euthanasia for poverty, disability, and other reasons that do not involve terminal illness.

The Details:

Canada is set to legalize MAID for mental illness next year, though there continues to be pushback against the expansion. During a hearing for the Special Joint Parliamentary Committee on Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD), Conservative MP Andrew Lawton questioned Dr. Mona Gupta, a psychiatrist, about the potential for euthanasia being allowing for eating disorders. During the exchange, Gupta was vague about what would and wouldn't qualify someone for euthanasia.

"The legislation is clear that it's trying to capture people in certain kinds of clinical circumstances, rather than point to specific diagnoses," she said. "So I would say that what's important is the circumstances of the person, not the medical category we classify them with."

Lawton then pushed back, asking if any conditions could be ruled out as never qualifying for MAID, but Gupta continued to be vague in her answers.

"There are certainly diagnoses that, by definition, are intended to be time-limited or reactive to certain kinds of circumstances, and I think we can safely assume that those would not meet the legislated criteria as they are currently," Gupta said, to which Lawton asked, "Do you believe an eating disorder could qualify someone for MAID?"

Still, Gupta remained vague. "Again, I think the legislation is clear that it really depends on the circumstances of the person," she said.

"So it could?" Lawton pressed, to which Gupta finally admitted, "Potentially."

She then admitted that people diagnosed with depression could likewise be eligible for euthanasia, if they are deemed to be "treatment resistant," though she still remained vague about the details of what that would entail.

Zoom Out:

The Eat Breathe Thrive Foundation for Eating Disorders issued a statement opposing euthanasia and assisted suicide for eating disorders, with "Game of Thrones" and "X-Men" actress Sophie Turner — herself a survivor of an eating disorder — signing on to the letter. The statement highlighted the disturbing trend of euthanasia for eating disorders.

A recent study revealing at least sixty published cases of assisted suicide and euthanasia among patients with eating disorders in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States, raises significant public safety concerns. A third of the cases involved young people in their teens and twenties, some of whom had never received comprehensive treatment before they were assisted in suicide. This highlights a tragic failure of healthcare systems, legal safeguards, and a grave violation of physicians’ ethical duty to do no harm.

Eating disorders are treatable conditions that require timely and comprehensive treatment. Yet many cannot access care due to cost, inadequate insurance coverage, extensive wait times, and a shortage of specialist services. The notion that they are incurable or terminal is scientifically unsupported and dangerously misleading. The term “terminal anorexia” is not recognized by any formal medical body, has been widely rejected by researchers and clinicians, and represents a profound misunderstanding of these conditions.

While assisted suicide advocates have tried to portray eating disorders as terminal conditions, eating disorder advocacy groups have strongly disagreed. The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders (ANAD) likewise published a statement arguing that "terminal anorexia" is not a real diagnosis, and that assisted suicide is not a valid response to eating disorders.

"ANAD fears that this label could be used as a justification for providers to offer medical aid in dying and overlook the fact recovery remains possible even after decades of chronic illness," the letter said, adding, "We must not confuse ‘chronic’ with ‘terminal.’ Being labeled with a terminal illness has the potential to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Regardless of the duration or severity of the illness, everyone deserves access to quality care."

The Bottom Line:

Euthanasia is not an answer to any and all potential suffering one may experience, yet that is what advocates seem to want. Rather than offering people the hope of legitimate health care and healing, they are told that their only option is death.