112. Medical Assistance In Dying and Eating Disorders with Dr. Anita Federici

Understanding Disordered Eating: Eating Disorder Recovery and Body Image Healing

Let’s get controversial.

Can the concept of medical assistance in dying be used for individuals who are suffering from “severe” and persistent eating disorders, as it is for patients who have terminal cancer?

Now, before we go anything further, please know that I acknowledge the sensitivity of this topic and if it feels too heavy and overwhelming, please skip it.

But the question is, why is this a controversial topic? MAID is not a new construct. It has been utilized around the world with different controversies for many years as a way of ethically, compassionately, and humanely allowing people to have a dignified way of dying.

Tweetable Quotes

“Even when there are hard conversations to have or complicated emotional conversations or even technically difficult conversations, these are not black or white topics. In any way that you look at this, if you look about the ethics, if you look about even the definitions of the words that we're using, none of it is black and white.” - Rachelle Heinemann

"Higher levels of care serve a very specific and limited function. They are not going to solve all of your problems." - Dr. Anita Federici

"We have to be really clear about what you're going for and what you're not going for." - Dr. Anita Federici

"Why is this controversial? I mean, medical assistance in dying is not a new construct." - Dr. Anita Federici

"You can't separate that from the history of how eating disorder treatment has evolved and what it is and what it isn't." - Dr. Anita Federici

"The limitations of the current system can leave individuals feeling hopeless, invalidated, and blamed." - Dr. Anita Federici

Resources

Grab My Journal Prompts Here!

Annita's Email: [e-mail] Anita's Website: www.psychology-emotionregulation.ca

Canada MAID Policy Update: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-services-benefits/medical-assistance-dying.html

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