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How to use this template

 

Step One: Find your local MP’s email address by typing in your postcode: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

 

Step Two: Copy and Paste the template letter below into your email provider.

 

Step Three: Add your personal story

 

Step Four: Send!

 

TEMPLATE LETTER TO MPs-Assisted Dying Bill

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Subject Line: Anorexia is not a terminal illness: Why does it qualify for assisted dying?​

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Dear [MP’s Name],

I am writing as your constituent to express my deep concern about the Assisted Dying Bill and the grave risks it poses to individuals with eating disorders. Eating disorders are among the most severe and deadly mental illnesses, yet they remain chronically underfunded and under-resourced. Without stronger safeguards, this Bill will result in the preventable deaths of some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

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ADD YOUR PERSONAL STORY HERE

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For example [I developed anorexia when I was 19 years old and spent two years fighting for my life, and my recovery in an inpatient unit. It was awful; I hated the rigidity around meals and being away from my friends and family. I was deeply depressed and suicidal at the time. I think if somebody had offered me the option of assisted dying at that moment, especially when I was very malnourished and my body was in crisis I probably would have taken it. But now I am out of the other side: I have completed a PhD, married a wonderful man and I am expecting my first child. I barely recognise the person I was back then and it's frightening to consider how many lives could be cut short by this Bill when full recovery and happieness is possible.]

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OR

My [daughter/sister/relative] is 22 years old and has been fighting for the treatment she needs to live. [add your story here; for example: Last year, she was discharged from treatment while still severely underweight, and her clinicians have told us that they’ve exhausted all treatment options and recommended she move to palliative care. Since then, she has been denied the eating disorder treatment she desperately needs. She has repeatedly asked for treatment and has been refused. Instead, she has been left to deteriorate, caught in a system that no longer sees her life as worth saving.]

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It is deeply concerning that the Committee rejected critical amendments that would have explicitly excluded people with anorexia. The reality facing those with eating disorders and their families is already dire: lives are being lost, families are being devastated, and the NHS is struggling to meet demand.

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Under the Bill’s current wording, people with anorexia could qualify for assisted death based on the physical deterioration caused by their illness. Right now, individuals with severe eating disorders are already being described as “untreatable” or even “terminal” by their doctors. The Committee’s decision to reject all amendments endorsed by eating disorder experts that would have ensured people with anorexia do not qualify for assisted death is profoundly alarming.

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In places where assisted dying is legal, people with anorexia have already died under these laws—even in Oregon, where it’s supposed to be limited to terminal illness.

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The recent Equality Impact Assessment does not go far enough to consider the unique complexities of eating disorders and has failed to address the concerns raised by eating disorder patients and professionals. 

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Eating disorders may not be the most visible of illnesses, but their impact is devastating—not just for those who suffer, but for their families as well. I would appreciate the opportunity to hear your thoughts on these concerns and how you intend to vote.

Given the Committee’s failure to adopt safeguards to ensure people with anorexia do not qualify for assisted death, I urge you to vote against this bill at Third Reading.

Best wishes,

[Your Name]

Address