Zoraya, a 29-year-old Dutch woman, has been suffering from chronic depression, anxiety, trauma and unspecified personality disorders for several years.
Now, she has asked for euthanasia, that is, assisted death, and it has been approved by the Netherlands government.
Her case stirred a controversy as assisted dying is still uncommon in the Netherlands.
“I understand the fears that some disabled people have about assisted dying, and worries about people being under pressure to die."
It’s not like you ask for assisted dying on a Monday, and you’re dead by Friday."
Zoraya ter Beek embraces the 'reverse tree of life' as a tattoo on her left arm. She is trying to find solace in death. Zoraya, a 29-year-old Dutch woman, has been suffering from chronic depression, anxiety, trauma and unspecified personality disorders for several years. Now, she has asked for euthanasia, that is, assisted death, and it has been approved by the Netherlands government.
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Euthanasia is assisting the painless killing of a person suffering from chronic pain due to an irreversible disease. But Zoraya is physically healthy.
Zoraya ter Beek recently got the final approval for assisted dying after undergoing a three-and-a-half-year procedure under a law enacted in the Netherlands in 2002.
Her case stirred a controversy as assisted dying is still uncommon in the Netherlands. It was published in April and was even taken up by the international media and this caused Zoraya immense stress.
Zoraya said she understood that cases of assisted dying could be controversial. She even told The Guardian, “People think that when you’re mentally ill, you can’t think straight, which is insulting."
“I understand the fears that some disabled people have about assisted dying, and worries about people being under pressure to die." “But in the Netherlands, we’ve had this law for more than 20 years. There are really strict rules, and it’s really safe.”
As per the Dutch law, for euthanasia, a person must be in “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement”. They must be informed and competent to decide.
This wasn't Zoraya's initial preference. She had grappled with depression and anxiety since childhood and tried everything.
After meeting her partner, she thought she would heal. “But I continued to self-harm and feel suicidal.” She took to intensive therapy and medicine and even electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
“In therapy, I learnt a lot about myself and coping mechanisms, but it didn’t fix the main issues. At the beginning of treatment, you start out hopeful. I thought I’d get better. But the longer the treatment goes on, you start losing hope.”
After "nothing was left" as a form of treatment. “I knew I couldn’t cope with the way I live now.” She had thought about taking her own life but the violent death by suicide of a schoolfriend and its impact on the girl’s family deterred her."
“I finished ECT in August 2020, and after a period of accepting there was no more treatment, I applied for assisted dying in December that year. It’s a long and complicated process. It’s not like you ask for assisted dying on a Monday, and you’re dead by Friday."
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She even told The Guardian how she did not regret her decision, but she did feel guilty as she had a partner, family, friends, and "I’m not blind to their pain. And I felt scared. But I’m absolutely determined to go through with it."
Even her doctors asked her at each stage if she was sure, but her partner had been supportive.
Even people on the internet discouraged her. But now her wish has been granted.
“They’ll start by giving me a sedative, and won’t give me the drugs that stop my heart until I’m in a coma. For me, it will be like falling asleep. My partner will be there, but I’ve told him it’s OK if he needs to leave the room before the moment of death,” she said.
“Now the point has come, we’re ready for it and we’re finding a certain peace. I feel guilty too. But sometimes when you love someone, you have to let them go.”
On the assigned day likely later in May, a medical team will go to Zoraya's house to conduct euthanasia.
Published By: India Today Web Desk Published On: May 17, 2024
