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This depressed 17-year-old girl who was raped as a young child and who felt she could no longer go on living has been legally euthanised at an 'end-of-life clinic'.
Noa Pothoven, 17, died last Sunday after being granted the right to euthanasia in The Hague, a city in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands.
The Dutch teenager from Arnhem felt that life had become unbearable and she could no longer carry on.
Noa penned an autobiography called 'Winning or Learning' about her battles with mental illness after reportedly being molested and raped at a young age.
As a result she suffered from a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anorexia.
Noa said she wanted her book to help vulnerable youngsters who struggle with life, saying that the Netherlands does not have specialised institutions or clinics where teens can go for psychological or physical aid.
In a social media post one day before her death, Noa made her decision public.
She wrote: “I deliberated for quite a while whether or not I should share this, but decided to do it anyway. Maybe this comes as a surprise to some, given my posts about hospitalisation, but my plan has been there for a long time and is not impulsive.
“I will get straight to the point: within a maximum of 10 days I will die. After years of battling and fighting, I am drained. I have quit eating and drinking for a while now, and after many discussions and evaluations, it was decided to let me go because my suffering is unbearable.”
Noa added that she never felt as though she was ‘alive’, rather surviving, writing: “I breathe, but I no longer live.”
According to Dutch law, euthanasia is legal as long as it is performed in accordance with the strict standards described in the ‘Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act’ which was passed in parliament in 2001 and became law in 2002.
Children as young as 12 can be granted euthanasia if they desire, but only after a doctor concludes that the patient’s suffering is unbearable with no clear end in sight.
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Byline Journalist: Koen Berghuis
Byline Sub editor: Joe Golder
Geography: Arnhem
Subject: Health, Illness, Wellness
T4 Editor Story Rating: 9
T4 Editor Pic/Vid rating: 7
T4 Total rating: 8
