Zoraya tek Beek, 28, a physically healthy woman diagnosed with severe psychiatric conditions is currently residing in the Netherlands on the German border. Zoraya, once inspired to be a psychiatrist, has been dealing with depression throughout her life and is reportedly scheduled to be euthanized in May. She has a 40-year-old boyfriend and they have been living together with their 2 cats in an isolated apartment.
28-year-old Dutch Woman To Legally End Her Life Via Physician-assisted Suicide
According to the report, she has been told that her condition was not going to get any better, but only worse. She decided to be euthanized after the doctors told her that there was nothing more to do as they had tried everything possible to recover her.
According to the source that revealed the news, as soon as Zoraya heard about what the doctors said, she shared her interest in getting euthanized, saying that she couldn’t do it anymore. “I was very clear, that if my condition is not going to get any better, then I will give up,” the source reported Zoraya as saying.
Euthanization refers to the intentional act of ending the life of a human or animal with the help of a drug that would slowly induce a pain-free death. This is often recommended by doctors in case of severe injury or terminal illness.
As per Dutch laws, a person is euthanized through a sedative that the doctor will administer, which is followed by a drug capable of stopping the heartbeat. Following this process, a euthanasia panel will thoroughly evaluate the death to ensure that the doctor who performed the case adhered to due care criteria. Only after the analysis will the Dutch government declare the person to be lawfully dead.
In the case of Zoraya, she has been planning to get cremated after her death. When asked about the particular reason behind her decision, she said she did not want her partner to have the burden of keeping the grave tidy. Reportedly, she will be euthanized on the couch in her living room, with her boyfriend on her side.
“I’m seeing euthanasia as some sort of acceptable option brought to the table by physicians, by psychiatrists, when previously it was the ultimate last resort,” said Stef Groenewoud, a healthcare practitioner at Theological University, Netherlands.
According to her, euthanasia is a phenomenon observed especially in people with psychiatric diseases, especially, young people when it is the only solid option that they believe they have when the doctors seem to give up on them.
Ter Beek, who is now the talk of the town, is only one of the many individuals in the West who have decided to have a lawful death rather than continue living in pain. Though several countries have legalized the phenomenon including Belgium, Netherlands, Colombia, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and parts of the US, there is currently an ongoing debate on the topic as some believe euthanasia is a physician-assisted suicide in some form.
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The Netherlands was the first nation to embrace euthanasia in 2001. According to the reports, around 8,720 euthanasia deaths were reported in 2022, up from 4% the previous year. In February this year, the ex-Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife died together by euthanasia at the age of 93 after their health began declining.