Parents Can Force-Feed Anorexic Adult Daughter In Parsippany, Judge Says

PARSIPPANY, NJ — A judge granted a Parsippany couple guardianship over their 20-year-old daughter, who is severely anorexic, the Daily Record reported. Guardianship allows the couple to force-feed their daughter.

S.A., a Parsippany High School graduate, was named incapable of making her own decisions, the report said. That responsibility has been given to her parents, who were not named.

The court ruled S.A. did not understand the severity of her eating disorder, and was at risk of dying if she was not force-fed. The decision was supported by her doctors at Princeton Medical Center, where she is currently a patient.

Anorexia has a high mortality rate; according to the National Institute of Mental Health, ten percent of people diagnosed with anorexia nervosa will die from it.

This is not the first time in recent years the issue of force feeding adults with anorexia has come before the Superior Court in Morristown. Late last year, the court ruled 29-year-old Ashley G. could not be force-fed after a decade worth of efforts to treat her anorexia were unsuccessful.

In that case, the court found that re-feeding damaged her heart and it was in her best interest to stop treatment. The decision was supported by medical doctors, Ashley, and her family.

Ashley died three months later.

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