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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Entertainment
J Oliver Conroy

Is assisted dying a ‘clear and present danger’ to people with disabilities? New US film asks tough questions

Reid Davenport Suicide Sundance Canada
Black and white image of woman in wheelchair surrounded by men in suits
Elizabeth Bouvia, an American with a debilitating illness, tried to starve herself in a hospital. Photograph: Multitude Films

In 1983, Elizabeth Bouvia, a 26-year-old woman in California with a disability, tried to starve herself to death in a hospital. “I’ve made a confident, rational decision,” she said.

Doctors began force-feeding her, which she resisted. The ensuing legal case turned her into a focus of intense public attention. A headline declared: “Elizabeth Bouvia is young, pretty, smart – and ready to die.”

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