'Red herring' or 'canary in the coal mine': a thematic analysis of views on eating disorders and assisted dying in the UK parliamentary debate.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was introduced for debate in UK Parliament in 2024. Notably, a disorder usually categorized as psychiatric and non-terminal-anorexia nervosa-became a focus. We sought to analyse key themes in this debate and explore implications. We searched transcripts of the UK Parliamentary debate for sections discussing eating disorders. We conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of these sections using methodology described by Braun and Clarke. Four themes were constructed during analysis. Three themes related to conceptual boundaries used to define eligibility for Physician Assisted Death: (1) terminality, (2) capacitous consent, and (3) the distinction between mental and physical disorder. The fourth theme was: Population impact of permitting Physician Assisted Death. Several speakers framed eating disorders as a 'red herring' in the debate on Physician Assisted Death. Others argued that eating disorders exemplified how proposed eligibility criteria for Physician Assisted Death could be interpreted in ways that extend beyond their intended scope. In this way eating disorders functioned as a canary in the coal mine. We conclude that considering complex examples such as eating disorders is not a distraction but offers important opportunities to stress test seemingly intuitive eligibility criteria for Physician Assisted Death.
Mental Health
Care/Management

Authors

Stephenson Stephenson, Roff Roff, Kim Kim
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