Euthanasia for Anorexia Patients

The state of Colorado passed a euthanasia referendum.  Advocates said safeguards would allow only terminal patients to choose to die.  But just seven years later, Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani of Denver is euthanizing her patients who suffer from anorexia, an eating disorder.  Anorexia is not a terminal condition but a psychiatric disorder.  Doctor Patricia Westmoreland, a Denver psychiatrist, said she is “hugely concerned” how this will affect not only her anorexia patients, but those with bipolar disorder or other mental illnesses.  She said those who starve their brains feel depressed and hopeless, hardly candidates for making that kind of decision.  When Jessica – a patient – first met Gaudiani, she wanted to change the course of her life and live.  A year later, she was dead.


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