A Judge in New Jersey judge has ruled that a 29-year-old anorexic woman has the right to refuse force feeding.
The ruling will ultimately result in the death of the woman, identified in court rulings as A.G.
The ruling will ultimately result in the death of the woman. The judge also granted the woman’s request for palliative care.
According to NY Mag, the woman has been in a psychiatric ward for the past two years, and weighs only between 60 and 69 pounds. A.G has suffered with anorexia her whole life and during multiple treatment attempts, has been force fed through a feeding tube.
During the last round of treatment, the force-feeding triggered heart failure due to “re-feeding syndrome,” fatal shifts in fluids and electrolytes that occur when malnourished patients receive food. A.G. pulled out the tube herself.
A.G’s mother told the court that she felt she did everything she could for her daughter. She says that she admitted her daughter to facilities, attended therapy with her and managed her medications for more than ten years.
The Judge, Paul Armstrong, said A.G. has the mental capacity to deny food and that courts have consistently upheld the right of patients or their families to refuse lifesaving treatment.
“This decision was made by A.G. with a clear understanding that death was or could be the possible outcome,” said Judge Armstrong.
While the state argued that her depression could be treated with ketamine, her doctors testified that she’s been diagnosed with late terminal anorexia-nervosa and is unlikely to make a recovery.
Her psychiatrist said that force-feeding would be “cruel and torturous at this point,” as she has the bone density of a 92-year-old. Forcing a feeding tube into her body would be dangerous and likely to cause bone damage. And, as her court-appointed lawyer argued, force-feeding would keep her alive but would not treat her anorexia.
Mental health activists argue that some treatments like “compassionate interference” could help the patient.
