Woman wins court order to refuse medical treatment and food

A 26-year-old woman, whose identity is protected, has received legal approval to “let nature take its course,” potentially leading to her starvation in a hospital where she is refusing food and medical intervention. Despite her family’s belief that she suffers from gastroparesis, there is no medical evidence supporting this claim; instead, she has been diagnosed with a factitious disorder, a mental health issue characterized by self-induced or feigned symptoms to obtain medical care, which cannot be treated with medication. The woman has a complex health history and has spent much of the past seven years hospitalized.

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