Judge allows parents to force-feed anorexic daughter

A New Jersey judge cleared the way for parents to force-feed their 20-year-old anorexic daughter.

Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong on Tuesday ruled the woman, known as S.A., was incapable of making her own decisions and gave her parents the power to make medical decisions on her behalf.

Her lawyer had argued that she wanted to make her own decisions and that she can manage her eating disorder on her own.

A young woman parents listen during a hearing in front of Judge Paul Armstrong involving their 20-year-old daughter, an anorexic woman and her desire to stop eating. The judge ruled her parents were able to become her guardians and have her artificially fed against her wishes

Judge Paul Armstrong has ruled the parents of a 20-year-old anorexic woman are allowed to have her artificially fed against her wishes despite her desire to stop eating

Judge Paul Armstrong has ruled the parents of a 20-year-old anorexic woman are allowed to have her artificially fed against her wishes despite her desire to stop eating

Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong found that her physicians have determined she does not understand the risks to her life by not eating and she has a chance of recovery through her parents’ guardianship.

The Parsippany resident weighed 60 pounds in June when she was taken to a clinic in Princeton and has since gained 15 pounds.

S.A.’s physical condition reached a crisis point and her brother found her collapsed in their Parsippany home.

The medical doctors and S.A.’s psychiatrist said S.A. is delusional and in denial about her risk of dying, the judge said. S.A. has stated, he said: ‘Being in treatment is torture.’ She has said she would choose death over treatment, the judge said.

The ruling follows the February death of a 30-year-old woman from the same state who successfully fought force-feeding (stock pic)

The ruling follows the February death of a 30-year-old woman from the same state who successfully fought force-feeding (stock pic)

The judge said S.A. has suffered from anorexia nervosa since she was 13 years old and her body has not gone through puberty because of her condition – medically recognized as a psychiatric illness. 

Armstrong said the physicians all opined that S.A. does not understand what the risks to her life are by not eating.

Her mother told the Daily Record of Parsippany the case makes other parents hopeful.

The ruling follows the February death of a 30-year-old Morris County woman named Ashley who successfully fought force-feeding. 

She also suffered from severe anorexia nervosa and refused to eat. 

Her parents and doctors supported a ruling, also handed down by Judge Armstrong, that allowed her to refuse a feeding tube. 

Court documents indicate that she had undergone a decade of unsuccessful treatment and had suffered organ damage. 

Unlike S.A.’s parents, Ashley’s parents wanted their daughter to continue treatment, but wanted to respect her wishes to stop eating and to refuse a feeding tube. 

Ashley suffered organ damage and was far more debilitated by malnutrition than S.A. 

As an attorney in the 1970s, Armstrong represented the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan as they fought successfully to have their 21-year-old daughter - who was in a persistent vegetative state after mixing alcohol with Valium at a party - removed from a ventilator so she could die with dignity. She lived nine more years but never came out of her coma

As an attorney in the 1970s, Armstrong represented the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan as they fought successfully to have their 21-year-old daughter – who was in a persistent vegetative state after mixing alcohol with Valium at a party – removed from a ventilator so she could die with dignity. She lived nine more years but never came out of her coma

Armstrong cited previous ‘landmark’ cases where patients, their families, physicians, and their institutions were found to be ‘proper cooperators’ in making difficult medical decisions.

As an attorney in the 1970s, Armstrong represented the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan as they fought successfully to have their 21-year-old daughter – who was in a persistent vegetative state after mixing alcohol with Valium at a party – removed from a ventilator so she could die with dignity.

She lived nine more years but never came out of her coma. 

In S.A.’s case, Armstrong cited the Journal of Psychiatric Practice, which argues that compulsory feeding can be effective in the early stages of anorexia, before organ failure.

‘This is a case that makes other parents hopeful,’ she said following the ruling. The mother, who did not wish to be identified by name, said the petition for guardianship ‘is a tool for parents to keep our kids alive.’ 

In an article in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice states anorexia nervosa has a high mortality rate, but death can be avoided with the right intervention.

“The body image distortion inherent to this disorder and the impaired judgment and cognition due to malnutrition frequently result in patients refusing treatment. Treatment is most effective if patients are treated early in the course of their illness and undergo a full course of treatment. Involuntary treatment may therefore be both life-saving and critical to recovery,” the article states. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk