Physically healthy Dutch woman opts for 'euthanisia' due to depression

A physically healthy Dutch woman, who has been suffering from depression, autism and borderline personality disorder, has decided to end her life legally, New York Post reported.

Zoraya ter Beek, 28, is scheduled to be euthanised in May after she was told that her condition "will never get better". 

The young woman has a 40-year-old boyfriend and lives with two cats. She once aimed at becoming a psychiatrist.

Zoraya said she made this decision after her doctors told her, "There’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never gonna get any better," according to the Free Press.

“I was always very clear that if it doesn’t get better, I can’t do this anymore,” she said.

More people are opting to end their lives legally due to mental health problems like depression or anxiety, Free Press reported. 

“I’m seeing euthanasia as some sort of acceptable option brought to the table by physicians, by psychiatrists, when previously it was the ultimate last resort,” Stef Groenewoud, a health care ethicist at Theological University Kampen, in the Netherlands, told the outlet.

“I see the phenomenon especially in people with psychiatric diseases, and especially young people with psychiatric disorders, where the health care professional seems to give up on them more easily than before,” she added.

Zoraya has planned to be cremated after being euthanised on the couch in her living room. She will be given a sedative followed by a drug that will stop her heart.

“The doctor really takes her time. It is not that they walk in and say, ‘Lay down, please!’ Most of the time it is first a cup of coffee to settle the nerves and create a soft atmosphere,” she said.

“Then she asks if I am ready. I will take my place on the couch. She will once again ask if I am sure, and she will start up the procedure and wish me a good journey. Or, in my case, a nice nap, because I hate it if people say, ‘Safe journey.’ I’m not going anywhere.”

Netherlands legalised euthanasia, also referred to as assisted suicide, in 2001, becoming the first country to do so. 

About 8,720 people chose to be euthanised in the Netherlands in 2022.