Should Euthanasia Be Allowed For Those With "Psychological Suffering"?
Nov 26, 2013 21:04
It's a mad world, and some folks are so sick of it all that their only option of escape is to commit suicide. And in certain places like Belgium, people are doing just that since euthanasia is legal.
In most cases, these people are usually already dying and just want to avoid unnecessary physical pain. But there's also a growing number are for people who are in mental pain who just want to end it all.
In early 2013, a man named Nathan Verhelst requested assisted suicide after his sex change operation left him feeling "like a monster." Verhelst had suffered from PTSD after being raped by his brothers when he was young. The reconstruction surgery to construct his penis hadn't worked, and when surgeons built an organ for him, his body rejected it. It was at that point that he told friends and doctors that he had lost his will to live.
In countries where suicide is illegal, people who commit suicide are often isolated and alone. In Verhelst's case, his strong circle of friends even through him a going-away party and tried to persuade him to reconsider. But nothing could make him want to live as he said he still woke up every day "feeling like a monster." Verhelst eventually got his wish, and died by lethal injection in Brussels.
Recently, the Canadian province of Quebec was reported to be considering adopting a law similar to Belgium. If the proposal goes through, they will be one of only a few regions in the world — including Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the US states of Washington and Oregon — to legalize voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Read more about this fascinating story over on the National Post
In most cases, these people are usually already dying and just want to avoid unnecessary physical pain. But there's also a growing number are for people who are in mental pain who just want to end it all.
In early 2013, a man named Nathan Verhelst requested assisted suicide after his sex change operation left him feeling "like a monster." Verhelst had suffered from PTSD after being raped by his brothers when he was young. The reconstruction surgery to construct his penis hadn't worked, and when surgeons built an organ for him, his body rejected it. It was at that point that he told friends and doctors that he had lost his will to live.
In countries where suicide is illegal, people who commit suicide are often isolated and alone. In Verhelst's case, his strong circle of friends even through him a going-away party and tried to persuade him to reconsider. But nothing could make him want to live as he said he still woke up every day "feeling like a monster." Verhelst eventually got his wish, and died by lethal injection in Brussels.
Recently, the Canadian province of Quebec was reported to be considering adopting a law similar to Belgium. If the proposal goes through, they will be one of only a few regions in the world — including Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the US states of Washington and Oregon — to legalize voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Read more about this fascinating story over on the National Post
