Dutch Woman, 28, To Be Euthanized Over Mental Illness After Psychiatrist Said It Will 'Never' Get Any Better

[Sugar Cookie]

I am against this

A 28-year-old Dutch woman is slated to be euthanized next month because of her struggles with mental illness after her psychiatrist said her condition will never improve.

Zoraya ter Beek lives with her boyfriend and two cats. Despite being physically healthy, she plans to end her life due to her depression, autism and borderline personality disorder, according to The Free Press.

She once had ambitions to become a psychiatrist, but she was never able to finish school or start a career due to her own mental illness. But now, she is tired of living and wishes to end her life.

Ter Beek's decision came after her psychiatrist told her that they had tried everything to help her mental health.

"There's nothing more we can do for you. It's never gonna get any better," she recalled her psychiatrist saying.

After declaring her decision, ter Beek said, "I was always very clear that if it doesn't get better, I can't do this anymore."

As for how she plans to go out, ter Beek said she would be lying on the couch in the living room, with no music playing. But she has asked her boyfriend to be with her until the end.

"The doctor really takes her time," she said. It is not that they walk in and say: 'lay down please!' Most of the time it is first a cup of coffee to settle the nerves and create a soft atmosphere. Then she asks if I am ready. I will take my place on the couch. She will once again ask if I am sure, and she will start up the procedure and wish me a good journey. Or, in my case, a nice nap, because I hate it if people say, 'Safe journey.' I'm not going anywhere."

Next, the doctor will administer a sedative and then a drug to stop ter Beek's heart.

Following her death, a euthanasia review committee will evaluate ter Beek's death to ensure the doctor followed "due care criteria" and the Dutch government will declare that her life was lawfully ended.

The Netherlands in 2001 became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia. Now, at least eight countries have legalized it. Assisted suicide is also legal in 10 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and all six states in Australia.

Protestant Theological University healthcare ethics professor Theo Boerin served on a euthanasia review board in the Netherlands from 2005 until 2014. During this time, he told The Free Press, he observed Dutch euthanasia "evolve from death being a last resort to death being a default option."

Dutch woman, 28, to be euthanized over mental illness after psychiatrist said it will 'never' get any better

A 28-year-old Dutch woman has decided to be euthanized next month after her psychiatrist told her that her mental health issues will never improve.

www.yahoo.com

 

[everjaded]

Looking at the way mental health is treated (or not treated) in the US, I don't have issue with this.

There are plenty of people with severe enough psychiatric disorders that they truly can't function as a typical member of society. Many of those people go on to hurt or even kill others, and end up incarcerated. Pain for the victims and families of the victims, and a financial burden on a society that must then care for them as they use resources winding endlessly through the legal system.

Or they end up homeless, or become addicts because they're self-medicating, and truly can't hold down a family and a typical 9-5 existence.

This option at least gives this woman some autonomy, and a way to choose to make a graceful exit from a life she does not wish to live. To me that seems much better than forcing her to try to find a more creative way to end things, because we all know she WILL find a way to end things if she is truly motivated to. Why not allow her a more dignified option?

We extend the kindness of euthenasia to the pets we love, if they don't have a chance at a good quality of life. It's so sad to me that we don't show that same kindness to humans.

 

[McDanel]

I had to really think about this, because the agony of lifelong depression is emotional torture. After reflection, I think if emotional pain is that bad, you should do it yourself.

ETA, I don't think it's fair to the person pushing the drugs. Letting a terminally ill person slip away seems very different from taking the life of a physically healthy person.

 

[Blunderbuss Firozabad]

"Euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legal in the Netherlands since 2002 for six conditions, including unbearable suffering, no prospect of relief and a long-held, independent wish for death.

A second specialist must confirm the wish, and most cases are carried out by the family doctor at home.

Although couples amount to a tiny percentage of the deaths by euthanasia – 8,720 cases, or 5.1% of all Dutch deaths in 2022 – Fransien van ter Beek, who chairs the NVVE pro-euthanasia foundation, said that many people express this wish. She added: “But it does not happen very often because it is not an easy path.”"

I am against this

They are not capable of making a choice to continue with a life of unbearable suffering or not, but you are, and you choose to give no mercy?


**************************
The former prime Minister of Holland and his wife of 70 years chose this in February.

Duo euthanasia: former Dutch prime minister dies hand in hand with his wife

Dries and Eugenie van Agt, both 93, died as number of couples in Netherlands choosing joint end to life grows

www.theguardian.com

Euthanasia

There are various ways to intentionally expedite the end of life. Euthanasia is the most explicit and is performed only when the patient has clearly expressed the wish to die. The Netherlands has statutory rules and procedures for the termination of life on request.

www.government.nl

 

[Josh P]

If someone has a mental illness that can't be treated, they should have the choice to live or die. Elisa Lam for example, someone once asked her if she would commit suicide, her response was, never unless I knew I was psychotic.

 

[Angiebla]

Borderline Personality Disorder is on a spectrum, but its bad for the person suffering from it and everyone around them.
i recommend "I hate you, dont leave me". It explains the pushing away/love bombing. They are chaos. Crazy relationships, impulsive, desperate.

There is Cognitive Behavior therapy, but no "cure" for a BPD.

BUT if they find a stable and patient partner, they can live a normal life.

I dont know about the autism and depression though. I have depression, 70% of the population has it sometime in thier life.

But we do it for animals that are suffering, this chick would probably have unalived herself anyway.

 

[Totemic]

Old, infirm, insane... do like the ancestors did. Put them out in the wilderness. If they live, they live, if not, nature ran it's course.

 

[Doctor Slaughter]

Looking at the way mental health is treated (or not treated) in the US, I don't have issue with this.

There are plenty of people with severe enough psychiatric disorders that they truly can't function as a typical member of society. Many of those people go on to hurt or even kill others, and end up incarcerated. Pain for the victims and families of the victims, and a financial burden on a society that must then care for them as they use resources winding endlessly through the legal system.

Or they end up homeless, or become addicts because they're self-medicating, and truly can't hold down a family and a typical 9-5 existence.

This option at least gives this woman some autonomy, and a way to choose to make a graceful exit from a life she does not wish to live. To me that seems much better than forcing her to try to find a more creative way to end things, because we all know she WILL find a way to end things if she is truly motivated to. Why not allow her a more dignified option?

We extend the kindness of euthenasia to the pets we love, if they don't have a chance at a good quality of life. It's so sad to me that we don't show that same kindness to humans.

This is a mixed bag. Suffer from mental illness, bad choices and at times stupidity. I've wanted to end my life and have even tried once or twice. The desire to live in me is too strong. However, this kid is suffering as bad as she says? Sometimes there isn't a light or hope. Some folks just can't see it. I've come across people like this. In the end it's between her and whatever higher power she has. On the other hand this can lead to eugenics and yeah I think it was action 44 or something like that with the Nazis. This is dangerous territory. I am not for government sanctioned or legalized suicide. I'm sorry but I definitely don't think this is good. I do feel for the woman, deeply.
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Old, infirm, insane... do like the ancestors did. Put them out in the wilderness. If they live, they live, if not, nature ran it's course.

We are humans, not animals. Yet I do see why people did this back then. Sometimes there wasn't a choice, not a viable one.

 

[Freyja]

Looking at the way mental health is treated (or not treated) in the US, I don't have issue with this.

There are plenty of people with severe enough psychiatric disorders that they truly can't function as a typical member of society. Many of those people go on to hurt or even kill others, and end up incarcerated. Pain for the victims and families of the victims, and a financial burden on a society that must then care for them as they use resources winding endlessly through the legal system.

Or they end up homeless, or become addicts because they're self-medicating, and truly can't hold down a family and a typical 9-5 existence.

This option at least gives this woman some autonomy, and a way to choose to make a graceful exit from a life she does not wish to live. To me that seems much better than forcing her to try to find a more creative way to end things, because we all know she WILL find a way to end things if she is truly motivated to. Why not allow her a more dignified option?

We extend the kindness of euthenasia to the pets we love, if they don't have a chance at a good quality of life. It's so sad to me that we don't show that same kindness to humans.

I agree with you 100%. If you cannot choose the conditions you are born with into this world, then you should get a vote in how you exit it. Who are the rest of us to say that this woman's pain and debilitating illnesses are not real. If she cannot control how her mind works and is truly crippled to the point where she cannot live a meaningful life. If you have no quality of life, then you should have this humane option available. This is just my own opinion.

 

[Totemic]

We are humans, not animals.

Hmmm I wanna say we are animal, because we sure the fuck are not mineral or vegetable... at least most of us are not within the vegetable range. As for this? Humans are just hyper mutated monkeys.

 

[Metalfan]

Hmmm I wanna say we are animal, because we sure the fuck are not mineral or vegetable... at least most of us are not within the vegetable range. As for this? Humans are just hyper mutated monkeys.

We have a vegetable as president,does that count?

 

[Symmachus]

Disturbing story. While I am not going to issue a general opinion on euthanasia, I will state that I don't want any of my loved ones to go through it.

 

[Ellen Brody]

I understand where she’s coming from.If not for my boys I wouldn’t stay either.She’s not wrong it doesn’t get better.

 

[Sejanus]

She has the right to go with dignity.
Quality of life is a human right oft overlooked.
This is no easy choice but she had solid criteria to base the decision on.
More nations need to offer this ability to their citizens.

 

[everjaded]

@Doctor Slaughter I can totally understand the uncomfortable parallels to eugenics, but I think the crucial difference here is that the folks dying are the ones initiating the process. They are evaluated by two doctors AND it appears they do a post-mortem (pun intended here, obviously) review to ensure they are treating appropriately, given the sensitive nature of this particular type of request.

I'm sure we've all read about the crazy ways people have found to unalive themselves, and the great lengths they'll go to out of pure desperation. The person who decapitated themselves via chain and their vehicle comes to mind. And there was another who bisected themselves via a rigged table saw.

Did they get the job done on their own? Sure. Where there's a will there's a way, right?

But then additional trauma gets inflicted upon the families who are left with the aftermath. Of cleaning up the mess, of maybe not getting an open casket to say their goodbyes. Of being trapped in a home where they have to walk past that hole in the wall or the dark stain on the floor daily, and feel another twist of the knife each time.

The first responders get traumatized too. Dealing with gruesome crime scenes for hours. Dealing with the gut-wrenching wails of family members who cannot be comforted. Having to ask all of the hard questions in the aftermath when loved ones might have been totally blindsided. Having to follow protocol to rule them out as potential suspects in the midst of their grief, to be able to even make a ruling of suicide.

Suicide is terrible and painful and sad no matter how it's done, but I do truly feel that some ways are less so than others.

We shouldn't force someone to jury rig a homemade guillotine contraption to check out if they want to. We shouldn't make the hardest choice even harder.

 

[Crazy Cat Lady]

I can see both sides of the story. Having had two family members who committed suicide, I can tell you that the aftermath is horrible. My cousin had problems with depression for years and it never got better. He had a wife and two kids, and they’re the ones who found him. I think if he’d had the option of euthanasia, he would have taken it.

But having said that, I don’t think I can condone euthanasia. It’s just not something I would ever consider for myself.

Just my two cents.

 

[Doctor Slaughter]

@Doctor Slaughter I can totally understand the uncomfortable parallels to eugenics, but I think the crucial difference here is that the folks dying are the ones initiating the process. They are evaluated by two doctors AND it appears they do a post-mortem (pun intended here, obviously) review to ensure they are treating appropriately, given the sensitive nature of this particular type of request.

I'm sure we've all read about the crazy ways people have found to unalive themselves, and the great lengths they'll go to out of pure desperation. The person who decapitated themselves via chain and their vehicle comes to mind. And there was another who bisected themselves via a rigged table saw.

Did they get the job done on their own? Sure. Where there's a will there's a way, right?

But then additional trauma gets inflicted upon the families who are left with the aftermath. Of cleaning up the mess, of maybe not getting an open casket to say their goodbyes. Of being trapped in a home where they have to walk past that hole in the wall or the dark stain on the floor daily, and feel another twist of the knife each time.

The first responders get traumatized too. Dealing with gruesome crime scenes for hours. Dealing with the gut-wrenching wails of family members who cannot be comforted. Having to ask all of the hard questions in the aftermath when loved ones might have been totally blindsided. Having to follow protocol to rule them out as potential suspects in the midst of their grief, to be able to even make a ruling of suicide.

Suicide is terrible and painful and sad no matter how it's done, but I do truly feel that some ways are less so than others.

We shouldn't force someone to jury rig a homemade guillotine contraption to check out if they want to. We shouldn't make the hardest choice even harder.

Believe me, that's crossed my mind also,

 

[Blunderbuss Firozabad]

@Doctor Slaughter I can totally understand the uncomfortable parallels to eugenics, but I think the crucial difference here is that the folks dying are the ones initiating the process. They are evaluated by two doctors AND it appears they do a post-mortem (pun intended here, obviously) review to ensure they are treating appropriately, given the sensitive nature of this particular type of request.

as well as @Doctor Slaughter

There's a hard line between voluntary and involuntary euthanasia.

We shouldn't forget, we already have some things voluntary in place here in the United States-- the DNR directive.
If your heart stops or you stop breathing, the directive prohibits CPR.
Even if you have an auto accident.

***************

There are some other aspects to the Dutch law which I think most of us would find uncomfortable, and this, rather than involuntary euthanasia, is the direction of the slippery slope:

Is euthanasia allowed in the Netherlands?

In the Netherlands euthanasia (termination of life on request) and assisted suicide are prohibited under articles 293 and 294 of the Dutch Criminal Code. In the Dutch Euthanasia Act an exception has been made for physicians: euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide performed by a physician who...

www.government.nl

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But having said that, I don’t think I can condone euthanasia. It’s just not something I would ever consider for myself.

A majority of us wouldn't choose it for ourselves from where we stand at this moment.
That's us making our own choice, no one makes it for us
Shouldn't others have the same right to make their own choices?

Personally, I can't bear the thought of someone choosing this and enduring the vetting process and wait periods, knowing what was coming.
But it's about them, not us.

Makes me wonder about the people that search their memory for signs. Do they really wish they had known what was coming?
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ETA, I don't think it's fair to the person pushing the drugs. Letting a terminally ill person slip away seems very different from taking the life of a physically healthy person.

There are 2 options, (and no physician is required by law, oath, ethics, or because of participation at any stage to be involved in the last step )

Here are some other cases:

DJ Fabo ruling: Italy's top court backs assisted dying in extreme cases

The ruling puts Italy's constitutional court on a collision course with the Roman Catholic Church.

www.bbc.com

Vincent Lambert: Frenchman at centre of end-of-life debate dies

The case of Vincent Lambert, in a vegetative state since 2008, divided France - and his own family.

www.bbc.com

Belgium minor first to be granted euthanasia

A terminally ill teenager has been helped to die in Belgium, the first case since age restrictions on euthanasia were lifted in 2014.

www.bbc.com

 

[SimplySpaztastic]

Hmmmmm

I'm conflicted on this.

Euthanasia to end ones mental illness? No.
Euthanasia to end ones terminal illness? Yes.

As someone who has gone to the end of the earth to improve my mental health and work towards my own mental balance, it can be done. When I was at my worst, and spiraling out; if the option to off myself and end my own life with dignity were to arise, I would have absolutely done so. Now, 9 and 10 years later after more work than most can understand, I'm happier now than I've ever been.

So I don't know about how I feel about that.

Also, I lost my mom to the worst disease imaginable; dementia. In her final weeks of life, I begged God and my dearly departed dad to bring her home; she had suffered enough, she had fought so fucking hard... but all I could do is sit with her and hold her hand as she slowly forgot how to chew and eat. Lost the ability to swallow and slowly lost her more each day for WEEKS. After years of losing her slowly her final weeks were the hardest thing I've ever done.
I wish we would have talked about dying with dignity prior to her losing her ability to agree or disagree; when she was still capable of making those decisions.

Not only do I not want to die like that, I don't want my kids to go through that.

Gonna put some thoughts into this, conflicted for sure here.

 

[DamagedGoods]

Tempting.

 

[Crazy Cat Lady]

As @SimplySpaztastic said (and so much better than I could):

Euthanasia to end ones mental illness? No.
Euthanasia to end ones terminal illness? Yes.

 

[Perfectly Paranormal]

Euthanasia to end ones mental illness? No.
Euthanasia to end ones terminal illness? Yes.

I totally understand your reasoning. I've tried to figure out how I feel about this for years, and I'm still not sure about what I think about it.
The problem for me is that a person's decision is often questionable. How do you know that a person actually wants to die, and isn't just trying to not be a burden?

 

[Totemic]

Every person in my family, and anyone that may be concerned about it knows that I have a no resuscitation stance. I see where people are having their concerns, but honestly, every person has the right to decide they don't want to be here.

Does it suck for the ones that care about them, sure. But in the end, their choice.

 

[thatsmallgrl]

For the longest time I was deadest against euthanasia for mental disorders.

However, the older I get and the more I deal with my own life and the others around me, I can completely understand the thought process behind it.

I myself have been labeled as a manic depressive. Don't worry, I'm on meds now, even was Baker acted a couple years ago. A story for another day. At any rate, while the meds do help, honestly for me, there are some days where I live only for the sole purpose of taking care of my cats. As one of them is a rescue who was severely abused, and getting him to the state he's in now was the only thing keeping me going, and keeping him happy is one of my main goals. You know? I simply don't have the conscience to do leave this earth and have him be without me. As for the other two brats I have, I love them dearly, not rescues, just my babies.

I guess my point is, I found something to give me the will to keep going on the days where I simply can't find anything else. But I can completely understand how debilitating it is to not want to.

There are always two sides to every coin.

 

[agm8478]

Hmmmmm

I'm conflicted on this.

Euthanasia to end ones mental illness? No.
Euthanasia to end ones terminal illness? Yes.

As someone who has gone to the end of the earth to improve my mental health and work towards my own mental balance, it can be done. When I was at my worst, and spiraling out; if the option to off myself and end my own life with dignity were to arise, I would have absolutely done so. Now, 9 and 10 years later after more work than most can understand, I'm happier now than I've ever been.

So I don't know about how I feel about that.

Also, I lost my mom to the worst disease imaginable; dementia. In her final weeks of life, I begged God and my dearly departed dad to bring her home; she had suffered enough, she had fought so fucking hard... but all I could do is sit with her and hold her hand as she slowly forgot how to chew and eat. Lost the ability to swallow and slowly lost her more each day for WEEKS. After years of losing her slowly her final weeks were the hardest thing I've ever done.
I wish we would have talked about dying with dignity prior to her losing her ability to agree or disagree; when she was still capable of making those decisions.

Not only do I not want to die like that, I don't want my kids to go through that.

Gonna put some thoughts into this, conflicted for sure here.

 

[runninfawn]

For the longest time I was deadest against euthanasia for mental disorders.

However, the older I get and the more I deal with my own life and the others around me, I can completely understand the thought process behind it.

I myself have been labeled as a manic depressive. Don't worry, I'm on meds now, even was Baker acted a couple years ago. A story for another day. At any rate, while the meds do help, honestly for me, there are some days where I live only for the sole purpose of taking care of my cats. As one of them is a rescue who was severely abused, and getting him to the state he's in now was the only thing keeping me going, and keeping him happy is one of my main goals. You know? I simply don't have the conscience to do leave this earth and have him be without me. As for the other two brats I have, I love them dearly, not rescues, just my babies.

I guess my point is, I found something to give me the will to keep going on the days where I simply can't find anything else. But I can completely understand how debilitating it is to not want to.

There are always two sides to every coin.

my fur baby is also the one that keeps me going and taking care of myself because i am worried that should something happen to me she will not be treated well, or taken care of etc but she is also the reason i wake up in the morning with a smile because she is so happy to see me , does that little happy dance that i didn't teach her but that i love and on my bad days she cuddles up to me as if saying it's ok i will take care of you just take your time ...
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my fur baby is also the one that keeps me going and taking care of myself because i am worried that should something happen to me she will not be treated well, or taken care of etc but she is also the reason i wake up in the morning with a smile because she is so happy to see me , does that little happy dance that i didn't teach her but that i love and on my bad days she cuddles up to me as if saying it's ok i will take care of you just take your time ...

she is also a rescue but i honestly don't know who recued who ...

 

[Sugar Cookie]

On May 22 this year, Zoraya Ter Beek, a 29-year-old woman from Netherlands, died by euthanasia on grounds of mental suffering. Zoraya had been diagnosed with chronic depression, borderline personality disorder, and autism and had struggled with self-harm and suicidal thinking for several year. She had tried numerous treatments, including 30 sessions of electroconvulsive therapy, until, as she reported her psychiatrist told her, “There’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never going to get any better.”

Zoraya’s story has much in common with that of Aurelia Brouwers, another 29-year-old Dutch citizen diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, depression and anxiety who had been approved for assisted death (AD) in January 2018 on psychiatric grounds. Aurelia drank poison peacefully at her home after she bade farewell to friends and family, with two medics in attendance, while clutching a stuffed dinosaur as her favorite song played in the background. She had struggled with depression since she was 12, and despite years of treatment, had felt that she was “never happy” and “didn’t know the concept of happiness,” describing every breath she took as “torture.” Dr. Kit Vanmechelen, a psychiatrist at Netherland’s End of Life Clinic, which approved Aurelia’s request for AD noted: “In personality disorders a death wish isn’t uncommon. If that is consistent, and they’ve had their personality treatments, it’s a death wish the same as in a cancer patient who says, ‘I don’t want to go on to the end.’” Aurelia’s story drew international attention to the use of medical aid in dying (MAiD), whereby a patient takes lethal medication provided by a physician, for nonterminal illnesses such as psychiatric disorders.

Zoraya and Aurelia were both young and in good physical health when their requests for assisted death were approved, and death was neither a foreseeable nor a necessary consequence of their qualifying diagnoses. How then, did these diagnoses make them eligible for assisted death?

In the Netherlands, as in Belgium, Luxembourg, and soon in Canada, AD, which encompasses both MAiD and the physician-administered practice of euthanasia, may be accessed on grounds of psychological suffering, so long as patients meet three conditions to qualify: they must be competent to provide voluntary consent, their qualifying illness must be irremediable, and they must establish unbearable suffering on account of it. On these grounds, advocates for AD hope to empower competent patients dealing with chronic and unrelieved psychiatric suffering to choose a dignified means of ending their life when its burdens outweigh benefits for them. They add that withholding AD for psychological suffering unfairly discriminates against the mentally ill.

Continue reading

Assisted Death for Psychiatric Suffering: Approaching Uncertainty with Humility - Petrie-Flom Center

By Zain Khalid On May 22 this year, Zoraya Ter Beek, a 29-year-old woman from Netherlands, died by euthanasia on grounds of mental suffering. Zoraya had been diagnosed with chronic depression, borderline personality disorder, and autism and had struggled with self-harm and suicidal thinking for...

petrieflom.law.harvard.edu

Zoraya Ter Beek - I hope the cat found a new home and did not end in a shelter.

Aurelia Brouwers

 

[Blizzard]

I bet they didn't try DMT

although this:

including 30 sessions of electroconvulsive therapy

I saw a guy who had a complete transformation after this, but he was older, maybe in his late 60s or so.

(edited note: no, I've never taken DMT, just read about it / seen videos)

 

[Sugar Cookie]

I bet they didn't try DMT

although this:



I saw a guy who had a complete transformation after this, but he was older, maybe in his late 60s or so.

(edited note: no, I've never taken DMT, just read about it / seen videos)

I think there is an agenda and ultimately the weakest of society the mentally ill, handicapped and elderly will be encouraged to self euthanize for the better of society.

 

[Blizzard]

View attachment 197065
Aurelia Brouwers

The fact that we have a picture, maybe a selfie, of an adult holding a pink plushie toy, tells more than a psychologist's exam ever could.

This problem was inflicted by a broken society that abandoned the core character of the human species so completely, one that worked fine for literally hundreds of thousands of years, that people with certain vulnerabilities (be they psychological or chemical) ended up broken enough to be willing to painlessly and unnaturally kill themselves (death isn't supposed to be that easy), and there are actually idiots in the society on standby to help them arrange it.