Belgian Young Woman Euthanized After Mental Suffering, Raising Questions (Worthy News In-Depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
LOKEREN, BELGIUM (Worthy News) – The death of a young woman in Belgium who received euthanasia “due to unbearable psychological suffering” has revived a debate about the world’s most liberal law on physician-assisted suicide.
Elien Vervaet, 24, had asked to be euthanized, saying in an interview last month that she had “died out” after a severe depression that “had drained” her of all energy for six years. Her death was confirmed over the weekend by her family.
The young woman from the Belgian city of Lokeren said the cause of her depression was a failed entrance exam for a drama course. “A year later, I performed in a play by Theater Antigone” a theater production house. “That’s where I felt how much I would like to do that. But realizing I could never do it as a full-time job made me very unhappy. And that feeling remained,” she added.
Vervaet, who also made a podcast about her planned euthanasia, described how everything in life “felt like a task” and said she had tried all possible therapies.
Three years ago, she asked for euthanasia due to “unbearable psychological suffering,” and her request was approved by two psychiatrists and a doctor from Vonkel as well as a center “for end-of-life questions” in the city of Ghent.
However, her family doctor had refused to carry out euthanasia on a person whose life has barely begun, several sources said.
DOCTOR AGREES
“It was a relief that Vonkel’s doctor said ‘yes,'” explained Vervaet recently. “Since then, I’ve been saying goodbye. For many people, that is strange: I will never see them again. That remains a strange thought, but it doesn’t scare me off,” she told Belgian media.
Her decision was due to raise more questions about Belgium’s liberal law on physician-assisted suicide, which is not just for the terminally ill.
Patients with psychiatric conditions – and now, even children – can request euthanasia. Supporters claim surveys in Belgium show overwhelming public support.
Several doctors say it gives patients with “constant and unbearable suffering a practical and humane way to die peacefully.”
In Belgium, between 2002 and 2021, a total of 370 patients received euthanasia for “unbearable suffering” caused by a psychiatric disorder, records show.
But controversy still exists. Last year the European Court of Human Rights (EHCR) ruled that the government didn’t conduct a proper, independent review of the circumstances surrounding the case of a woman who suffered from depression.
LATE INFORMED
The Strasbourg-based court ruled in a case filed by her son Tom Mortier, a Belgian national who complained he only learned of his mother’s death through euthanasia the day after it was performed.
He told the EHCR this was “a violation of the right to life” and his “right to respect for private and family life,” guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Mortier’s mother, Godelieva de Troyer, was euthanized at the age of 64 because of “chronic depression” that she apparently experienced for around 40 years. Yet, Mortier claims that doctors never consulted any of her family members.
A criminal complaint against various parties in 2014 was discontinued, however, in 2017 due to “insufficient evidence.”
While the EHCR disagreed that Mortier’s rights were violated, it clarified that the oversight entrusted by law to a federal commission was “inadequate.”
Separately, Belgium’s Constitutional Court declared aspects of the country’s euthanasia law unconstitutional.
MORE CONTROVERSY
The ruling followed a legal case in the Belgian city of Dendermonde where doctors were acquitted of the murder of Tine Nys, a 38-year-old patient who claimed to be experiencing “unbearable psychological suffering.”
The doctors’ defense counsel successfully argued it was unjustifiable to accuse the doctors administering Nys’ euthanasia of murder when they had only violated a procedural condition.
The Constitutional Court agreed that the penalties for “non-compliance violated the constitutional principles of equality” and “non-discrimination” as they could potentially lead to murder charges.
The Court said they were “disproportionate” for physicians involved in euthanasia. Its ruling effectively encouraged legislators to liberalize the legislation further.
Discussions are also ongoing in neighboring the Netherlands on further liberalizing current euthanasia legislation despite concerns among Christian pro-life groups and churches.
The debate is also followed in other nations, including in North America, where Canada has been preparing to expand its euthanasia law to include those with mental illness. Critical Canadians – including many of the country’s doctors – question whether the country’s assisted death program has already moved too far, too fast.
Several churches have expressed concerns, too, and say any life is precious to Christ.
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