“It’s The Ultimate Unknown”: 28-Year-Old To Be Euthanized After Years Of Psychological Battles
Trigger warning: euthanasia, self-harm, suicide
28-year-old Zoraya ter Beek is expected to be euthanized in early May, following years of untreatable mental health struggles that have become unbearable, leading to a diminished life quality.
The Dutch woman, who has already decided to be cremated, has been reportedly suffering from depression, autism, and borderline personality disorder (BPD).
- Zoraya ter Beek will undergo euthanasia due to untreatable mental health issues.
- In 2022, euthanasia accounted for 5% of deaths in the Netherlands.
- Zoraya described the procedure as calm, starting with a cup of coffee.
According to Mayo Clinic, BPD mental disorder characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships.
In 2017, Zoraya had already opened up about her challenges for the Dutch publication AD, in which she revealed that she started to harm herself at the age of 13.
She would cut herself on her arm regularly, prompting a teacher to send her to behavioral experts, which, at the time, did not lead to a diagnosis or treatment.
In 2015, Zoraya was diagnosed with chronic depression and ASD (autism spectrum disorder), and her mood could not be elevated with the help of medications. She was already thinking about euthanasia then.
28-year-old Zoraya ter Beek is expected to be euthanized in early May, following years of untreatable mental health struggles
Image credits: rtlnieuws
Now, according to an article written by a journalist who endorses anti-euthanasia views on social media, Zoraya has finally taken the step to schedule her end-of-life treatment.
She described the process of undergoing euthanasia for the Free Press (FP): “The doctor really takes her time.
“It is not that they walk in and say: lay down, please!
“Most of the time it is first a cup of coffee to settle the nerves and create a soft atmosphere.
“Then she asks if I am ready.
“I will take my place on the couch.
“She will once again ask if I am sure, and she will start up the procedure and wish me a good journey.
“Or, in my case, a nice nap, because I hate it if people say, ‘Safe journey.’ I’m not going anywhere.”
Image credits: TheFP
As of 2023, euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal (law not yet in force, awaiting regulation), Spain, and all six states of Australia.
In the Netherlands, a doctor administers a sedative, followed by a drug that stops the patient’s heart.
Upon the patient’s death, a euthanasia review committee evaluates the death to ensure the doctor adhered to due care criteria. The Dutch government can subsequently declare that the life of the patient was lawfully ended.
Zoraya recalled her psychiatrist telling her that they had tried everything: “There’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never gonna get any better.”
At that point, she said, she decided to die. “I was always very clear that if it doesn’t get better, I can’t do this anymore,” she told FP.
Zoraya admitted: “I’m a little afraid of dying because it’s the ultimate unknown.
“We don’t really know what’s next—or is there nothing? That’s the scary part.”
Zoraya decided to be cremated after being diagnosed with depression and autism
Zoraya ter Beek is one of a growing number of people across the West choosing to end their lives rather than live in pain. Pain that in many cases can be treated.
In 2022, euthanasia comprised 5% of deaths in the Netherlands. Read @rupasubramanya’s investigation:… pic.twitter.com/YHh2Sk6DbN
— The Free Press (@TheFP) April 2, 2024
A Bored Panda staff member read on Wednesday (April 3) an X post (formerly known as Twitter) written by Zoraya where she claimed that she did not have BPD. Zoraya has since deleted her X account.
Bored Panda has contacted the Netherlands’ Regional Euthanasia Review Committees (RTEs) for comment about Zoraya’s case.
The RTEs’ latest annual report indicates that there has been an increase in the number of notifications of euthanasia in the Netherlands.
In 2022, the RTEs received 8,720 notifications, an increase of 13.7% compared to the previous year.
The total number of euthanasia represented 5.1% of the total number of deaths in 2022 in the country, compared to 4.6% in 2021.
Image credits: Enrique Silva
The committees noted that 57.8% of the euthanasia performed in 2022 involved patients with incurable cancer.
The latest figures also showed that 7% of euthanized patients had neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. 4.1% were patients with cardiovascular disease, 3.2% were patients with pulmonary disorders, and 16.4% were patients with a combination of conditions, usually somatic.
Moreover, the RTEs indicated that the highest number of notifications of euthanasia involved people in their seventies (2,873 cases, 32.9%), followed by people in their eighties (2,314 cases, 26.5%), and people in their sixties (1,669 cases, 19.1%).
“The doctor really takes her time,” Zoraya said, describing the procedure
Image credits: freepik
According to the Maxim Institute, euthanasia is when an attending medical or nurse practitioner takes an action with the singular intention of causing a patient’s death. Generally, this is in the form of a lethal injection.
Meanwhile, assisted suicide is when a suicide is intentionally aided by the attending medical or nurse practitioner, and the person self-administers the medication. That is, the medical practitioner will prescribe a lethal drug that the patient will usually take orally.
Assisted suicide is legal in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, parts of the United States, and all six states of Australia.
People had divided opinions regarding Zoraya’s decision
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Maybe it's because I'm Dutch, but why would one doubt the wish for death of someone with severe, and in this case apparently untreatable, depression, just because they feel it's 'wrong' or 'too final a solution'? Your life is your own, and if you wish to die because life is insufferable for you, then why should you be made to continue it? Respect people's right to an honorable death. EDIT TO ADD: 'things could still get better' is no argument to then just suffer through another decade or so of mental torture. You wouldn't say that to someone in an abusive relationship, you probably wouldn't even put your pet through that, so why would you wish it upon another person?
Yes, better to have it done with care and dignity than try to do it yourself. I REALLY take offence to the post that states " growing number of people .. choosing to end their lives rather than living in pain. Pain that in many cases can be treated". The last sentence is a lie. People can just say " i want to die" and its done. There is a review board that checks to determine" can anything else be done? " Only then is it approved. So that means the pain CANT be treated. Sorry for shouting but this upsets me so much. Like you said, people should respect other people's right to an honorable death.
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Mental illnesses can make your life absolutely unbearable just like physical illnesses and sometimes, there really is no cure. Plus you can't just die on a whim with an assisted dying organization, you will get a lot of assistance, a medical evaluation, a waiting period and so on. Let people who find their existence unbearable die in peace and dignity. You are free to choose to suffer until your very end, don't make that choice for others.
Absolutely. I was tasked last winter by my terminally ill father in law to organise his assisted suicide. And let me tell you, the things that need to be done, organized, evaluated, checked, double checked, approved until you are actually allowed to have that assistance are no small feat. All in addition to him asking when he's finally able to go and what's taking so long. 😢 In the end after everything was organized and scheduled he died without assistance (which was ok as well) Him slowly dying by soffocating was not something I was prepared to let him suffer through! Yet still it was immensly hard on my husband and my mom in law, which is why I organized everything. It's just NOT easy at all to go this path.
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I feel so desperately sad for her, because at one point in my own life I felt dying was genuinely the only way out. I tried, I failed, I suffered and it was horrific. But I'm doing so much better now and I look back on that time and feel nothing but dread at the idea that I might have succeeded and ended there, at 27. But I do understand that living life with certain disorders can be completely unbearable, and I think the choice to die with dignity is a deeply personal one. I wish her peace.
It's good to hear you are doing so much better now. Long may it continue. May there be joy, happiness and peace in your life.
Load More Replies... Maybe it's because I'm Dutch, but why would one doubt the wish for death of someone with severe, and in this case apparently untreatable, depression, just because they feel it's 'wrong' or 'too final a solution'? Your life is your own, and if you wish to die because life is insufferable for you, then why should you be made to continue it? Respect people's right to an honorable death. EDIT TO ADD: 'things could still get better' is no argument to then just suffer through another decade or so of mental torture. You wouldn't say that to someone in an abusive relationship, you probably wouldn't even put your pet through that, so why would you wish it upon another person?
Yes, better to have it done with care and dignity than try to do it yourself. I REALLY take offence to the post that states " growing number of people .. choosing to end their lives rather than living in pain. Pain that in many cases can be treated". The last sentence is a lie. People can just say " i want to die" and its done. There is a review board that checks to determine" can anything else be done? " Only then is it approved. So that means the pain CANT be treated. Sorry for shouting but this upsets me so much. Like you said, people should respect other people's right to an honorable death.
Load More Replies... Mental illnesses can make your life absolutely unbearable just like physical illnesses and sometimes, there really is no cure. Plus you can't just die on a whim with an assisted dying organization, you will get a lot of assistance, a medical evaluation, a waiting period and so on. Let people who find their existence unbearable die in peace and dignity. You are free to choose to suffer until your very end, don't make that choice for others.
Absolutely. I was tasked last winter by my terminally ill father in law to organise his assisted suicide. And let me tell you, the things that need to be done, organized, evaluated, checked, double checked, approved until you are actually allowed to have that assistance are no small feat. All in addition to him asking when he's finally able to go and what's taking so long. 😢 In the end after everything was organized and scheduled he died without assistance (which was ok as well) Him slowly dying by soffocating was not something I was prepared to let him suffer through! Yet still it was immensly hard on my husband and my mom in law, which is why I organized everything. It's just NOT easy at all to go this path.
Load More Replies... I feel so desperately sad for her, because at one point in my own life I felt dying was genuinely the only way out. I tried, I failed, I suffered and it was horrific. But I'm doing so much better now and I look back on that time and feel nothing but dread at the idea that I might have succeeded and ended there, at 27. But I do understand that living life with certain disorders can be completely unbearable, and I think the choice to die with dignity is a deeply personal one. I wish her peace.
It's good to hear you are doing so much better now. Long may it continue. May there be joy, happiness and peace in your life.
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