An anorexic and bulimic New Jersey woman has died three months after a judge granted her request to refuse force-feeding.
Her court-appointed lawyer, Edward D'Alessandro Jr., tells the Daily Record of Parsippany the 30-year-old identified as Ashley G. died Monday at Morristown Medical Center’s palliative care unit.
D'Alessandro says he’s glad she is no longer suffering. But he says he feels “a profound sadness” that modern science and the efforts of a loving family couldn’t overcome “this problem.”
The state attorney general’s office argued she was not mentally competent and sought to force-feed her.
Judge Paul Armstrong in November disagreed, finding her decision was supported by her parents and health professionals. He ordered her to receive care to relieve pain or discomfort.
