Disturbed by case of depressed Dutch 19yo allowed euthanasia

[Jane3212]

this Dutch case re Iris Dekker seems very disturbing to me.

https://www.thefp.com/p/the-parents-who-let-their-daughter

How can we be sure her depression couldn't have been improved? She was only 19. On Reddit, some people are picking up on the mention of tranquillisers and thinking she was addicted. We don't have enough info but tranquillisers are known to affect mood.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DeepStateCentrism/comments/1tp8rwh/the_parents_who_let_their_daughter_die_free_press/

More info: https://news.sky.com/video/the-teenager-who-wanted-to-end-her-life-under-dutch-euthanasia-laws-13561925

This happened this April.

I’ve only read the free part, but bloody hell.

Well it sounds like she had a very complex medical history and not ‘just’ depression but FND, she had spent two years in a wheelchair, had chronic pain, had attempted suicide twice by the age of 15. The list of treatments she went through is gruelling. Her own parents ended up supporting her because of the anguish she was living each day.

Perhaps we have to face the uncomfortable truth that not all mental health problems are curable and some are ‘terminal’ in outcome, however that outcome is achieved.

She voluntarily starved herself until she was admitted to a hospice and given palliative sedation.

It’s awful but so was her life it seems. I don’t know what the answer is but her own parents seem to feel this was the right one so I’m not sure I can say differently.

Thanks, this makes me think...

'She voluntarily starved herself until she was admitted to a hospice and given palliative sedation.'- I think I had the impression she was given an injection. No.

Which makes me think- is this euthanasia? I still think it's very worrying. But I thought euthanasia was defined as someone being given a lethal substance or injection.

This actually now to me sounds more like the case of Noa Pothoven, which was reported to be by euthanasia but was actually due to a similar refusal to eat and the parents' reluctance to force feed her.

Now, this is People, so I need to fact check, but it sounds like she was not approved for euthanasia, at least not at that point. So I'm not sure whether this is the same as euthanasia, although I still want to discuss it. If someone in that situation refuses to eat or drink, should they be force fed? 19 seems very young for doctors to be certain it would never improve.

' By December 2025, Iris still had not heard back from the euthanasia clinic about approval. So instead, she decided to end her life using the “voluntarily stopping eating or drinking” practice, also known as VSED.'

https://people.com/teenager-ends-life-parents-support-food-refusal-11990145

This comment in the article seems disturbing: 'The doctor came to her bedside and said, “Iris, you made it. We’ll start tomorrow.” She sat up and gave him a high-five.'

Maybe I'm reacting wrongly : but doesn't it feel wrong for the doctor to be telling her 'you made it' re a decision to commit suicide?

Look I agree that we never know if a solution can be found but the idea its Euthanasia that's the problem here is fanciful because people can just as easily commit suicide. Euthanasia at least is regulated.

My mum was in chronic pain at 90 before she tried to 'take herself out' by throwing herself from the hospital bed in order to induce a head injury as her mother before her did to expedite her death but only succeeded in breaking her hip. She asked many times to be euthanised but the law had only just became legal at the time so she would have to jump thru many hoops & wait a significant period of time to get there. Instead the doctors advised if she refused surgery the hematoma as a result of her self harm with withdrawal of all medication & morphine would kill her in a few days which she opted for….so there are always other ways.

Old people are apparently known to self harm themselves into suicide.

She was an adult so she could made her own choice.

No one should have to keep living against their will. That is just cruel. There are some things worse than death.

”Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”