'I’m Absolutely Determined': 29-Year-Old Dutch Woman Zoraya ter Beek Granted Euthanasia Approval

A 29-year-old physically healthy Dutch woman’s request to legally end her life has been approved by her country’s authorities, according to a British newspaper.

Zoraya ter Beek, who struggles with crippling depression and autism, received the final approval last week for assisted dying after a three-and-a-half-year process under a law passed in the Netherlands in earlier 2000s, The Guardian reported.

Zoraya lives in a small village in the Netherlands near the German border and is slated to be euthanised in May. Euthanasia is the act of intentionally ending the life of a person or animal to relieve suffering, typically in the context of terminal illness or severe injury. It is often performed by administering drugs or other means to induce a painless death.

Ter Beek has grappled with mental health challenges throughout her lifetime. She has decided to end her life, despite being in love with her 40-year-old boyfriend and living with two cats. The Dutch woman said she decided to be euthanised after her doctors told her nothing more could be done to improve her condition.

“I was on a waiting list for assessment for a long time, because there are so few doctors willing to be involved in assisted dying for people with mental suffering. Then you have to be assessed by a team, have a second opinion about your eligibility, and their decision has to be reviewed by another independent doctor,” she was quoted as saying by the British newspaper. “In the three and a half years this has taken, I’ve never hesitated about my decision. I have felt guilt – I have a partner, family, friends and I’m not blind to their pain. And I’ve felt scared. But I’m absolutely determined to go through with it.

The Dutch woman’s case has caused controversy as assisted dying for people with psychiatric illnesses in the Netherlands remains unusual, although the numbers are increasing. Notably, the Netherlands was the first country to legalize assisted suicide in 2001. A year later, a law was passed in this regard. Back in 2010, there were two cases involving psychiatric suffering. Fast forward to 2023, there were 138: 1.5% of the 9,068 euthanasia deaths.

Several countries have legalised euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide in some form, but the issue remains contentious and is debated by both legal and philosophical luminaries. Some of these nations include the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Colombia, Switzerland, Germany, and parts of the US. In February, former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife died together by euthanasia. Critics say that people like Ter Beek have been encouraged to kill themselves by the law, with many likening the suicide surge to a contagion.