The story of Zoraya ter Beek should certainly elicit our compassion (Dutch woman, 29, granted euthanasia approval on grounds of mental suffering, 16 May). For such a young person to feel their mental suffering has been enough to make them wish for euthanasia is tragic. As psychiatrists, we are inclined to ask questions about the surety of her diagnoses and about the details of her treatment. A deeper instinct, obliterated once assisted suicide and euthanasia are legalised and normalised, says there is always something to be done: there is always hope. Euthanasia offers the opposite: nothing further to be done; no hope, only death.
But ter Beek’s story has wider implications. For instance, it shows how the eligibility criteria for assisted suicide and euthanasia expand. In the Netherlands, as in other countries, the criteria now include not solely those with the capacity to make decisions, but those who lack capacity too; not solely physical suffering but mental (which can include being “tired of life”); not solely adults, but also children.
