BarcelonaZoraya ter Beek is 28 years old and lives in a small town in the Netherlands near Germany. She lives there with her partner – with whom she says she is happily in love – and her two cats. But now it’s on everyone’s lips, because last week he explained to The Free Press who was waiting to receive euthanasia. Ter Beek has made the decision to end his life after a long battle with depression. He also suffers from autism and a personality disorder. As she herself explained to the American media, the last push before starting the procedure would have been given by her psychiatrist, when she told her that “she would never get better” and that “they could do nothing more” for her . He is expected to be euthanized in early May.
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The case has had a wide echo, both in the Netherlands and on an international scale. Ter Beek has explained that he wants to leave everything tied up before he dies: “I don’t want my partner to have to worry about organizing anything.” “We haven’t decided on the urn yet, but it will be my new home,” he said. He has also explained that he does not want a funeral and that he hopes that his partner will be by his side until the last moment. “I’m a little afraid of dying,” he admitted.
The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia in 2002. Since then, regulations have been relaxed, although receiving euthanasia still requires strict controls: a board reviews all cases , which need the endorsement of two medical opinions. In addition, in order to opt for it, it is required that there is no prospect of improvement. Cases sometimes drag on for years.
In fact, Ter Beek’s case, because it is for mental health, requires an even stricter procedure. This is due to the need to see the affliction of the disease. In fact, according to data from the regional euthanasia review committee (RTE), only 10% of applications for mental health problems end up going ahead.
The Netherlands, in recent years, has been gradually opening the way to euthanasia for groups of people who previously had it banned. Now a year ago, for example, they expanded the age range to apply. Although until then children between the ages of 1 and 12 could not access the procedure, now they can. The Netherlands is not the first country to allow euthanasia at all ages: Belgium has allowed it since 2014.
2024-04-08 11:40:43
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