France May Make It Illegal To Promote Extreme Thinness

A bill was adopted today by the French parliament's lower house that would make it illegal for anyone to "publicly incite extreme thinness."
Article By: DEVORAH LAUTER, Associated Press Writer.
Paris- "The National Assembly approved the bill in a series of votes Tuesday, after the legislation won unanimous support from the ruling conservative UMP party. It goes to the Senate in the coming weeks."
"Fashion industry experts said that, if passed, the law would be the strongest of its kind anywhere. Leaders in French couture are opposed to the idea of legal boundaries on beauty standards."
"The bill was the latest and strongest of measures proposed after the 2006 anorexia-linked death of a Brazilian model prompted efforts throughout the international fashion industry to address the repercussions of using ultra-thin models."
"Conservative lawmaker Valery Boyer, author of the law, argued that encouraging anorexia or severe weight loss should be punishable in court."
"Doctors and psychologists treating patients with anorexia nervoas — a disorder characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming overweight — welcomed the government's efforts to fight self-inflicted starvation, but warned that its link with media images remains hazy."
"French lawmakers and fashion industry members signed a nonbinding charter last week on promoting healthier body images. Spain in 2007 banned ultra-thin models from catwalks."
"But Boyer said such measures did not go far enough."
Read the article in full here.For more information see Medusa's Post: France Tables New "Anorexia" Law
Special thanks to WildAngel6 for bringing the article to my attention.
source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080415/ap_on_he_me/france_anorexia
picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/safari_vacation/6260723020/