Bethany Shipsey: Parents demand 'outright ban' on DNP diet pills after daughter, 21, dies of overdose
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS: Parents of the 21-year-old woman who died of overdosing on "toxic" diet pills are demanding an outright ban on the "heinous" drugs. Bethany Shipsey died on February 15, 2017, following a cardiac arrest just two days after taking Ukrainian "fat-burning" tablets containing the chemical compound dinitrophenol (DNP). Her parents Doug, 58, and Carole, 63, who watched their daughter die, claim that the pills have caused 33 deaths in 10 years. Thus, they are campaigning for a ban on the drug.
"It is clear to all those of us who have lost loved ones to this heinous chemical substance, that the UK Government have more than demonstrated, they are totally incapable of being entrusted, to regulate and control such a deadly toxic Poison, as 2,4 Dinitrophenol," the pair stated ahead of a meeting with security minister Tom Tugendhat on Monday, January 30, where they were due to argue their case to outlaw DNP. The drug is sold illegally as a weight-loss supplement and can cause fatal organ failure.
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'We want to go for an outright ban'
From October of this year, DNP will be regulated in the UK under the Poisons Act 1972, meaning that a person can buy it or products containing the chemical through a registered pharmacist. Doug welcomed the decision and called it a "step in the right direction" but insisted that the drug should be banned altogether. "We want to go for an outright ban because, during the years since we lost Beth, we can’t find any legitimate industrial uses — which is why the government has been saying for all these years that it’s still legal to sell DNP," as reported by The Times. His wife, Carole, added: "We’ve lost one of the most precious things in our lives. And it’s really difficult because you watch her friends and within her peer group they’re getting married and having babies and she should really be part of that."
How did Bethany Shipsey die?
The couple, from Worcester, recalled the horror of watching their daughter Shipsey die in agony, as per the DailyMail. "Bethany was bolt upright in bed, leaning forward, breathing faster than normal. She said 'I can't see properly'. Her heart rate kept going up in increments and never did come back down again," said Carole who is a nurse. "I pushed her into the middle of the bed. She was white, really pale, eyes open and pupils were pinpoint."
The couple further described the ordeal: "We watched every minute of our child fighting for their life, whilst their body temperatures unstoppably continued to heat up, causing profuse sweating from the inside out, causing them to become so agitated, that atop of their hospital trolley bed, they were literally like Olympic athletes running for gold. Becoming redder and redder in the face, gasping for their breath like a marathon runner after the last sprint; until their heart and body could literally no longer sustain the effort to stay alive."
Carole shared that she filled rubber gloves with water and pressed them against her daughter's burning skin, however, to no avail. "The sheer heat and effort caused the muscles of the entire body to become rigid, including the chest wall, making it impossible to breathe. To the extent that not even intubation is possible. Leaving us only to watch, as the last flickers of life, drained out of our loved one's eyes forever."
Carole and Doug are now among those parents whose loved ones also died from DNP and are campaigning for the pills to be banned. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) is also demanding an outright ban. "It's killing people and that's why we're so concerned about it," said English board chairman Thorrun Goviind, as per the DailyMail. "We're really pleased that it's been put on the poisons register but we want to see it banned completely. There is no reason that this is needed for human or animal use so we want to make sure that people can't access it and those that are selling this and making money out of vulnerable people are held to account for it."
Was Bethany Shipsey raped?
Shipsey was a rape victim who had overdosed 14 times previously but was not considered a suicide risk, a 2018 inquest heard. Shortly before she died, she told her friend: "I have just overdosed on DNP. I'm petrified of telling anyone because it is like my 15th overdose." An inquest heard Shipsey had suffered mental health problems after being in an abusive relationship. She was reportedly sexually assaulted by her ex-boyfriend Barry Finch, who was jailed for six years in August 2016, as per the outlet. Coroner Geraint Williams recorded a narrative verdict that included a spotting of suicide.