The Dutch authorities have just revealed a case of euthanasia for a young 20-year old woman last year because she was suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. As a child, she suffered serious and numerous traumas, in particular as a victim of sexual abuse, according to papers released by the Dutch Euthanasia Commission. The resulting mental trauma appeared 15 years after the incidents. Doctors accepted to put an end to her life, as permitted by Dutch law, since euthanasia has been decriminalized in the country since 2001. They went ahead despite positive improvements in the woman’s condition after ‘intensive therapy’ two years before her death.
Tugdual Derville, general delegate for Alliance VITA and spokesman for Soulager mais pas tuer (Relieve Suffering without Killing) states:
« The disclosure of this latest tragedy shows the slippery ground when the door for euthanasia and assisted suicide is opened. In the Netherlands, the number of cases is constantly rising with a 50% increase in the past 4 years. The 2015 Annual Report from the regional committees who track euthanasia shows that 56 of the euthanasia patients for that year were suffering from psychiatric problems. And now discussions are now being held to extend access of euthanasia to children under 12 years old or even to elderly individuals who are “tired of living”. A breach was opened… In just a few years the protective paradigm on which society is based is overwhelmed: flooded by false compassion, it doesn’t know how to take care of the most vulnerable individuals”.
