A 28-year-old woman believes her mental anguish is so severe that her only solution is death.
Zoraya ter Beek – who lives in the Netherlands that’s legalized voluntary euthanasia – is physically healthy but says she’s burdened by depression, autism and borderline personality disorder. In May, she plans to take a “nice nap,” and never wake.
Typically considered an option for the terminally ill, critics argue that laws “destigmatize suicide,” making euthanasia a “default option” for people with psychiatric disorders. Keep reading to learn more about this woman and voluntary death.
Zoraya ter Beek lives in a little Dutch town near the German border, in a nice home with a 40-year-old boyfriend whom she loves dearly, and their two cats.
Admitting she lacked the will to follow through with her dreams of being a psychiatrist, Ter Beek explains she’s spent a lifetime burdened by her depression, autism and borderline personality disorder.
And now, she wants to be euthanized and “freed from life.”
Legal termination of life
According to Regional Euthanasia Review Committee, the body that determines lawful termination of death in the Netherlands, euthanasia is when the physician administers fatal substances to the patient and assisted suicide, is when the patient is given the substances to ingest independently.
“Euthanasia is defined as the actions of a physician who terminates a patient’s life at the patient’s explicit request. Key requirements are that the request is voluntary and well-considered, and that the patient’s suffering is unbearable and without prospect of improvement.”
