The dangerous romanticization of euthanasia

Defenders of euthanasia have given a twist to their message in defense of what they consider the right to die with dignity. These are no longer patients whose life would be harrowed by constant pain, as has been repeated in traditional international campaigns. Now, it is about launching the idea that choosing the moment to die is something romantic, whether it be young people, even children, who consider that they can't take it anymore, or older couples (or not so old) who wish to die at the same time. These arguments ignore the reality of the countries where it has been legalized, where cases have skyrocketed and where laws allow an increasing number of cases, even allowing elective suicide for minors without parental consent.

'Being freed from life'

The case of Zoraya ter Beek has been heard around the world and has gone viral on social media. She is a young Dutch woman, 28 years old, who lives with her partner, who she loves, and two cats, as she added in an interview with The Free Press. She was granted euthanasia at the beginning of May. However, ter Beek does not suffer from any terminal illness or incurable degenerative disease. In her case, she is tired of living with autism, borderline personality disorder, and depression. The moment she decided to die was when the doctors told her that "there's nothing more we can do for you."

At that moment, ter Beek decided to request euthanasia. "I was always very clear that if it doesn’t get better, I can’t do this anymore." To represent her choice, the young woman got a tattoo of the "tree of life" on her arm, but "in reverse." She said, "Where the tree of life stands for growth and new beginnings. My tree is the opposite. It is losing its leaves, it is dying. And once the tree died, the bird flew out of it. I don’t see it as my soul leaving, but more as myself being freed from life."

Euthanasia as a symbol of 'eternal love': couples committing suicide together

Another point that euthanasia advocates highlight is the possibility of taking love to the grave, by committing suicide together as a couple. As an example, in February, the death by euthanasia "holding hands" of former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife, both 93 years old, went viral. The two had been married for seven decades and had three children, although they had some health problems that led them to opt for death. The news was shared by media outlets throughout the world, and even many conservative ones allowed themselves to be carried away by the romanticism of joint suicide.

Peru: Judicial shortcut despite illegality

Although euthanasia is illegal in Peru, Ana Estrada and a group of activists managed to challenge the rule in court. The Supreme Court ultimately agreed to allow her the right to die "as an exception." However, this precedent, de facto, can be exploited by patients who want to resort to suicide.

Slippery slope in countries where it is legal

Currently, euthanasia legal in the Netherlands (as of 2002), Belgium (2002), Luxembourg (2009), Colombia (2014), Canada (2016), Spain (2021), New Zealand (2021), Portugal (2023), Ecuador (2024) and Cuba (2024). Furthermore, in several countries, although euthanasia is illegal, assisted suicide is not (unlike euthanasia, in which a doctor is in charge of providing lethal medication to the patient, it is the requester who takes the lethal dose, normally prescribed by a doctor).

After initial approval, these laws tend to expand very quickly. In the Netherlands and Canada, complaints about the abuse of euthanasia have not stopped. Justin Trudeau's government has been accused of promoting it as a solution to poverty, while the Netherlands has even approved child euthanasia without parental consent. In several of the countries that have approved it, it is no longer a requirement to suffer from an incurable disease. It is enough to even express the desire to stop living, and unbearable psychological pain is accepted as a viable reason.

Record number of deaths from euthanasia

Requests for euthanasia have not stopped growing in these countries. In the Netherlands last year, the record for elective deaths was shattered. Some 9,068 people opted for this process, according to The Netherlands Times, compared to 8,720 in 2022. In addition, the number of applications alleging psychological problems increased by 20%. Even more alarming is that such applications are skyrocketing among young people. The Regional Euthanasia Review Committees claim that the majority of youth requests are being denied.

In Canada, in the latest data set available from 2022, the number of people who received euthanasia was 13,241, which represented an increase of 32.1% compared to the previous year. According to Alliance Vita, the main reason for opting for euthanasia was cancer (63.0%). Next is the group of "other diseases" or "multiple disabilities," which reached 22.6% of the demands. Neurological disorders account for 12.6% , including dementia at 9%.

'Death as the default option'

Psychiatrists and psychologists are already raising their voices about the dangerous drift that the romanticization of euthanasia is causing. And the numbers are confirming it. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson made a post on X warning, "Next we romanticize suicide. Then it becomes a contagion of death. Administered by the state." In addition, ethics and health experts are already warning about the rise in elective deaths.

In statements to The Free Press, Theo Boer, professor of health ethics at the Protestant Theological University of Groningen, who served for a decade on a euthanasia review committee in the Netherlands, explained that he ended up resigning from his position after seeing the drift: "I entered the review committee in 2005, and I was there until 2014. In those years, I saw the Dutch euthanasia practice evolve from death being a last resort to death being a default option."

These statements are similar to those of Stef Groenewoud, a health ethicist at the Theological University of Kampen, also in the Netherlands, who criticized that euthanasia was beginning to be presented "some sort of acceptable option brought to the table by physicians, by psychiatrists, when previously it was the ultimate last resort. I see the phenomenon especially in people with psychiatric diseases, and especially young people with psychiatric disorders, where the healthcare professional seems to give up on them more easily than before."