According to Fransien van ter Beek, director of the Dutch Association for Voluntary End of Life, it is not a unique case. “We hear the wish more often. There are many couples who want that, especially if they have been together for a lifetime,” she says in News and Co. “If you look at 2022: in that year it happened 29 times. 29 couples, so 58 people out of a total of almost 9,000 euthanasia cases.”
Die together
The wish to die together exists among several couples, but it is not an easy path to take, says Van ter Beek. “To receive euthanasia, both partners must separately meet the legal due care requirements. Both must make a voluntary, well-considered request for unbearable suffering without any prospect of improvement.” Nor should there be any reasonable alternatives to reduce suffering. “That doesn’t always happen, but it is possible.”
Another independent doctor must also check with each individual whether all these requirements have been met. “That is very strict. There must be no mutual influence. The partners are spoken to separately and assessed separately.” This examines whether the euthanasia request is truly voluntary and not made under the influence of a partner.
Euthanasia
According to Van ter Beek, the euthanasia of couples can be done in two different ways. “The doctor can provide euthanasia by means of an injection, or the doctor can assist in suicide by providing a drink. This usually goes through an IV, in 97 percent of cases this is the case,” she explains. . “The execution is then done by one doctor and sometimes by two doctors. Often by two doctors, so that one can die at the same time.”
2024-02-10 15:38:04
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