Should anorexics be force-fed?

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In September 2014, an anorexic women (with anorexia being defined as "an eating disorder in which people keep their body weight as low as possible") fought for her "right" to not be force-fed. She argued she was not in a state of mind to receive the treatment, stating that it would lead to a potential suicide risk, despite the fact she would die without the treatment.

Indeed, one could argue that it is a person's right to reject treatment as much as it is their right to seek it. On the other hand, a doctor's job is to keep their patient alive, thus many feel compelled to help them.

Currently, anorexics can be force fed under Part IV of the Mental Health Act (1983).

Do you think this law should continue? And under what circumstances?



As always, I have provided some list of arguments to help you decide:


ARGUMENTS FOR FORCE-FEEDING:
- Malnutrition has been found to impair logical thinking, therefore the anorexic sufferer may be unable to make the correct decisions. Thus, intervention to increase their nutrition may be required to allow them to make "better" decisions about their treatments.
- Anorexics need to stay alive in order to receive further treatment, thus may need to be forced to eat before the problem can be tackled.


ARGUMENTS AGAINST FORCE-FEEDING
- Force-feeding against a persons will violates their human rights. People should have the right to refuse and should have to give consent.
- Force-feeding is only a temporary fix for an underlying problem.
- Forcing an anorexic to eat, therefore gaining weight, may create further psychological stress and thus increase their suicidal risk.





The debate is now up to you! Good contributions will be rewarded with reputation throughout the thread and the member who makes the best contributions throughout the month will win the Debater of the Month award, 2 weeks VIP, as well as 250 tokens. Creating interesting member debates will also win you reputation/tokens!

[Darien]

People have the right to live their lives as they chose.
BOOM I WIN.

[Jake]

Tbh as someone who suffered with an eating disorder when i was younger I genuinely didn't know rhat you could be force fed. In all honesty though i disagree with the fact that you can be forcefed, ultimately it should be up to the person who has anorexia. If they feel the need and reasoning behind what they are doing is strong enough then who is everyone else to tell them no! i really can't explain what i mean well enough so if i remember i will write a detailed post later when i get home from work and not from my iphone

[Evanora]

People have the right to live their lives as they chose.
BOOM I WIN.

so should someone have the right to go out and murder a child, if that's the life they choose?

[Darien]

Re-read what I said very carefully.

"People have the right to live their lives as they choose."

I did not say "people have the right to live others lives."

When you live your own life; it is not physically interfering with anyone elses, in theory.

[Evanora]

When you live your own life; it is not physically interfering with anyone elses, in theory.

1 individual refusing to eat is interfering with the lives of anybody who cares about them

[Darien]

Lol, very indirectly... Well; do you think you should be told what makeup to wear? How to wear your hair? If you are or are not allowed to drive? Where you're allowed to go? Who you're allowed to see? These all have an affect on those around you. Is it your job to determine how THEY live THEIR lives? No. Just like they shouldn't do so to you.

Should you offer to help them seek help, guidance, understanding? Of course.. That's not the same as shoving something down someones throat without their consent.. That's RAPE.


rape1
[reyp]
Spell Syllables
Examples Word Origin
noun
1.
unlawful sexual intercourse or any other penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the victim.


Let me pose you another question;

Should un-wed mothers, or in that case; mothers with many kids, or just mothers in general; be forced to abort their children if someone besides the mother or father think they should?

[Evanora]

Lol, very indirectly... Well; do you think you should be told what makeup to wear? How to wear your hair? If you are or are not allowed to drive? Where you're allowed to go? Who you're allowed to see? These all have an affect on those around you. Is it your job to determine how THEY live THEIR lives? No. Just like they shouldn't do so to you.

Should you offer to help them seek help, guidance, understanding? Of course.. That's not the same as shoving something down someones throat without their consent.. That's RAPE.
[/B]
the things you listed aren't going to end in my death though so it's an unfair comparison

of course it's not rape, did you miss the part of that definition which said 'sexual'? also, force feeding of somebody with a mental disorder isn't often shoved down their throat.. it's through a drip so they get necessary nutrients

[Darien]

It's called a hyperbole; for the sake of argument you use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device. It's about YOU making decisions about SOMEONE ELSES BODY.

Also; perhaps you should re-read the definition.. It has more than one part; let me emphasis for you.

"or any other penetration"

and break it down.

penetration

pen·e·tra·tion
ˌpenəˈtrāSH(ə)n/
noun
1.
the action or process of making a way through or into something.

...............

Should we force drug addicts to take Meth?

...............

Also; driving could result in your death. Hence why I added that comparison. :)

[Evanora]

It's called a hyperbole; for the sake of argument you use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device. It's about YOU making decisions about SOMEONE ELSES BODY.

yes, because they aren't able to make rational decisions themselves?

[Darien]

That could be said about anyone making any decision.. What do you deem as rational? Rational is an opinion; someone else may not agree.


Westboro believes picketing Homosexuals is Rational; DO YOU?

[Evanora]

That could be said about anyone making any decision.. What do you deem as rational? Rational is an opinion; someone else may not agree.


Westboro believes picketing Homosexuals is Rational; DO YOU?

Anorexia is a diagnosable, recognised mental disorder which undoubtedly clouds ones judgement .. Christianity is not

[buttons]

Darien; what do you propose instead for treatment? many mental illness do cause irrationality; you get stuck in a psychological cycle where you need help to break out of it. whether force feeding should be part of that treatment may depend, but how do you suggest getting help for anorexics instead?

[Darien]

Recommend them to a trained professional; such as a counsellor. :) There are many websites to help you get started.
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/eating-disorders/helping-someone-with-an-eating-disorder.htm


Also Christianity does cloud ones judgement; to say it doesn't is rather silly. Religion in GENERAL.

(From the above website; this interesting passage comes to mind.)

Avoid placing shame, blame, or guilt on the person regarding their actions or attitudes. Do not use accusatory “you” statements like, “You just need to eat.” Or, “You are acting irresponsibly.” Instead, use “I” statements. For example: “I’m concerned about you because you refuse to eat breakfast or lunch.” Or, “It makes me afraid to hear you vomiting.”

Wouldn't forcing things upon them be placing shame, blame, AND guilt?

[Evanora]

Recommend them to a trained professional; such as a counsellor. :) There are many websites to help you get started.
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/eating-disorders/helping-someone-with-an-eating-disorder.htm


Do you think those who are force fed are done so without any other mental health care? ....

[Darien]

That's not for me to say; it's on a case by case basis.. This is a specific scenario; is it ok to violate one's right to self? No; in most circumstances it is not.

That said in reference to judgement; emotions also have adverse effects on your judgement.. So who's to say you are in your right mind; telling them what to do with their life?

[Evanora]

That's not for me to say; it's on a case by case basis.. This is a specific scenario; is it ok to violate one's right to self? No; in most circumstances it is not.

Any person who is deemed unwell enough to to be force fed has help beyond that.. it's a last resort

You just said yourself that in most circumstances it isn't, in which do you think it is then?

[Darien]

When; due to that persons self actions, physical harm falls to another.

The point is the decision should fall to whomever has the right to make the decision. If it's the person in question; it's their decision.. If they ARE deemed unable to make their own decisions, it would fall to next of kin or whomever has power of attorney.

[Evanora]

When; due to that persons self actions, physical harm falls to another.

The mental trauma that a self inflicted death would have on the individuals family members/friends would arguably have a longer lasting and potentially worse effect than physical harm

[Darien]

Yet; we don't make allowances for that in society because it's circumstancial.

Should we physically force, tape even, those with bulimia's mouths shut so they're not able to purge? Do we have a right to do that to another human being? Would you like that done to you? The entire issue is about taking away one persons RIGHT TO SELF because /not them/ thinks you should... Who's to say?

What if someone lying on their death beds wishes to die; but you don't let them.. You decide they should live.. And a month later they contract cancer and die a horribly painful and agonizing death... When that all could of been avoided? Whos right is it to decide?

[Evanora]

Yet; we don't make allowances for that in society because it's circumstancial.

Should we physically force, tape even, those with bulimia's mouths shut so they're not able to purge? Do we have a right to do that to another human being? Would you like that done to you? The entire issue is about taking away one persons RIGHT TO SELF because /not them/ thinks you should... Who's to say?

What if someone lying on their death beds wishes to die; but you don't let them.. You decide they should live.. And a month later they contract cancer and die a horribly painful and agonizing death... When that all could of been avoided? Whos right is it to decide?

Entirely different circumstance, we are talking about anorexia - say for instance an otherwise normal 17 girl (which is a typical age girls develop eating disorders) with anorexia refuses to eat and hasn't responded to other forms of treatment, should she be allowed to starve to death? Is that what you consider compassion?

[Darien]

Should she be allowed to make her own decisions in her own life that SHE is living? Yes.

Not different circumstances; they're the same. They're eating disorders; both are very life-threatening.

So you think she should be force-fed the rest of her life? As if that's a better way to live?

[Evanora]

Should she be allowed to make her own decisions in her own life that SHE is living? Yes.

Not different circumstances; they're the same. They're eating disorders; both are very life-threatening.

That's ridiculous, she has a mental disorder which causes her to think irrationally, and if she was force fed she may go on to eventually respond to treatment and live quite a happy life - would you allow a baby to do whatever it wants? No, because they are unable to distinguish between right and wrong, harmful and safe

[Darien]

So you think bullying someone to make a decision is how someone elses decisions should be made?

Also, why do you always assume this person is a "she"; men can have eating disorders too.

And as I said before; what is irrational to you is rational to "her".

[Evanora]

So you think bullying someone to make a decision is how someone elses decisions should be made?

Also, why do you always assume this person is a "she"; men can have eating disorders too.

And as I said before; what is irrational to you is rational to "her".

It isn't bullying, it's taking necessary action in order to preserve somebody's life

Yes they can but I'm using a female pronoun as an example because statistically girls are more likely to develop them

And yes, it's rational to her - because she has a mental disorder that causes her to think so

[Darien]

Who's saying that your "normality" isn't a mental disorder?

Avoid threats, scare tactics, angry outbursts, and put-downs. Bear in mind that an eating disorder is often a symptom to extreme emotional and stress, an attempt to manage emotional pain, stress, and/or self-hate. Negative communication will only make it worse.

So.. let's put.. more stress on them.. more self hate... more emotional pain.. That will for sure make it better!!!

[Evanora]

Who's saying that your "normality" isn't a mental disorder?

Avoid threats, scare tactics, angry outbursts, and put-downs. Bear in mind that an eating disorder is often a symptom to extreme emotional and stress, an attempt to manage emotional pain, stress, and/or self-hate. Negative communication will only make it worse.

So.. let's put.. more stress on them.. more self hate... more emotional pain.. That will for sure make it better!!!

Because my "normality", as you put it, isn't going to lead to my eventual death and doesn't harm me in any way. No qualified psychiatrist uses scare tactics and put-downs, like I said before force feeding is a last resort after the individual has been assessed and hasn't responded to the typical treatment

[Darien]

Yes; your normality will lead to your eventual death, hun.. I have bad news. We - all - die.
I KNOW. I know.. it's hard.. but it's true.

[Evanora]

Yes; your normality will lead to your eventual death, hun.. I have bad news. We - all - die.
I KNOW. I know.. it's hard.. but it's true.

You know that isn't what I meant, try to stick to the debate rather than juvenile comments like this

[Darien]

I don't know it isn't what you meant... Actually.. You must be more precise.

[Hannah]

I personally believe that when an illness has taken that much control over someone, forcefeeding is acceptable.

I am sure that if the person genuinely wanted to kill themselves, they would have found different ways. As previously mentioned, malnurishment can impact thoughts and I personally believe that that makes the person a danger to themselves. I'm sure there's an act that goes towards when a person is unable to make a correct decision and puts themselves or others at harm they can be detained, and it is rightly being enforced to help out those struggling with eating disorders.

I can understand why it can be argued that it is against human rights and such, but when you're really putting yourself at that much risk how can people just stand by and watch?

The laws are in place for a reason - and I completely agree that forcefeeding someone who cannot feed themselves is the right thing to do.

[FlyingJesus]

We - all - die.

I've never died

[Darien]

Well if I even believed in you; I'd reply.. But I doubt you can fly.

[FlyingJesus]

What

[Jglake]

I have ADHD and so I have to take medicine to stay calm and not be hyper, and one side effect is I lose my appetite and I will not eat AT ALL unless forced to or the medicine's effect (only lasts so long) wares off. I have to be forced to eat and unless they are forced to eat they will not eat at all and end up starving literally.