The Dutch teenager could no longer live with the memories of the time she was sexually abused.
Noa Pothoven, a 17-year-old resident of the Dutch city of Arnhem, was legally euthanized last Sunday at home. The adolescent could no longer live with the memories of the time when she was sexually abused, describing depression as “unbearable.”
Pothoven, who also suffered from post-traumatic stress and anorexia, published a picture on Instagram last Thursday with a long description where one could read “A sad last post. (…) Within a maximum of 10 days I will die. I stopped eating and drinking for a while, but after many conversations and reflections, I realized that I have not really been alive: I survived only. ”
The young woman, who appealed to followers not to change her mind because “to love is let go,” is not the only minor who has been granted euthanasia. The truth is that in the Netherlands, euthanasia has been allowed since 2002 and has been done to children from the age of 12 since a doctor concludes that the patient’s suffering has reached a point where he has no hope at all.
In the Netherlands, euthanasia is allowed provided the following conditions are met: the patient’s psychological state does not evolve positively; the request to die is carried out without the influence of drugs or the opinion of others; the patient is fully aware of his / her condition, of the existing options and of the future; a second physician should evaluate the person; euthanasia must occur in a medically correct environment with the assistance of health professionals and patients under the age of 16 years must obtain parental consent.
“It may be a surprise to some, given my posts about hospitalization, but my plan has been this long and was not impulsive,” Pothoven added in the Instagram publication, where he admitted that his mother, Lisette, “was always there “To support it.
The author of the autobiography ‘Winning or Learning’, where her suicide attempts and struggles against depression and anorexia are portrayed, explained that she said goodbye to ‘the most important people’ in a hospital bed that had been installed in your living room.
In 2017, 6585 Dutch citizens resorted to euthanasia, which corresponds to 4.4% of the deaths registered in the country that same year. The data are forwarded by the Regional Euthanasia Committee which monitors cases in the Netherlands.
