Sophie Turner Signs Letter Expressing ‘Deep Concern’ About Medical Aid in Dying

Sophie Turner does not support medical-aid-in-dying laws, believing they can be risky for those struggling with eating disorders.
The 29-year-old Game of Thrones alum signed an open letter to the U.K. House of Lords opposing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would allow adults in the U.K. who are terminally ill to have the choice of medical aid in dying.
The bill passed the House of Commons in June. It is currently up for debate as it moves through the House of Lords before becoming law.
The letter, drafted Nov. 18 by the Eat Breathe Thrive Foundation for Eating Disorders, expresses “deep concern” about the bill and the “serious risk it poses to people with eating disorders.”
“If passed, this bill could make individuals with eating disorders eligible for assisted death at times when they are unable to access or accept treatment,” it states. “Many young people who could recover with effective care might instead receive lethal medication during a period of despair.”
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“The bill’s definition of ‘terminally ill,’ like that used in Colorado, could be interpreted to include people with eating disorders who develop severe physical complications from starvation, purging, or restricting insulin. In a health system already stretched beyond capacity, someone who is severely ill and ambivalent about treatment could be assessed as eligible for assisted death,” the letter continued. “Amendments may lessen the risk for people with eating disorders but cannot remove it entirely.”
In addition to Turner, actress Stephanie Waring and TV personality Gail Porter, among others, signed the letter.
Turner’s opposition to the bill follows her own struggles with an eating disorder.
Last year, the Trust star shared in an interview with British Vogue that she dealt with online trolls as a teenager whenever her weight fluctuated. The criticism led to a struggle with body image and eventually, bulimia.
“Being a young girl, especially one growing up in the spotlight, you really judge yourself,” she told the outlet.
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However, Turner pointed out that even after recovering from her eating disorder, she was still criticized.
“When you’re bulimic, your face tends to bloat. So when I finally did get better in my early 20s, my face went back to normal. Then, suddenly, all the comments were about whether I’d had buccal fat removal or not,” she said at the time. “So yeah, you can never win.”
Turner said taking breaks from social media has improved her mental health and helped manage her disordered eating.
“I know when I’m in a bad headspace that the eating thing will always flare up,” she explained. “But now I regulate it by sitting in the discomfort and just getting used to that feeling of being full. It’s all exposure therapy. I think life is exposure therapy.”