[DiamondSmiles]

Eline Gordts
huffingtonpost.com

10/05/2013

A 44-year-old man in Belgium chose to end his life via euthanasia on Monday after a series of failed gender reassignment surgeries. “I was the girl no one wanted,” Nathan Verhelst told the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, mere hours before his death.

Verhelst, who was born female, told the paper’s reporters he grew up in an unloving family, feeling like a boy trapped in a girl’s body. He finally started hormone therapy in 2009 and underwent several reassignment surgeries in 2012.

While doctors did not publicly share the specifics of the surgeries, Verhelst told Het Laatste Nieuws that after the procedures, he felt like a monster. “I was ready to celebrate my new birth. But when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted with myself,” he told the newspaper. “My new breasts did not match my expectations and my penis had symptoms of rejection.”

Verhelst applied for euthanasia several months ago and finally died on Monday in a Brussels hospital. His request was approved based on a 2002 law that makes Belgium one of only three countries in the world that have legalized euthanasia, along with Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

According to the latest report by the Belgian Evaluation Commission for Euthanasia, released in May 2012, more than 2,000 of the country’s citizens opted for euthanasia in 2010 and 2011, accounting for 1 percent of deaths in the country.

Evelien Delbeke, a visiting professor at the University of Antwerp, told The Huffington Post that individuals approved for the procedure must meet strict criteria. “It’s not like people in Belgium can just be killed without protection. Our legislation is pretty strict,” she said in Dutch. “A strict set of conditions needs to be met and several doctors are involved in each case.”

Delbeke explained that in order to file a request, applicants need to be of age, mentally competent and suffering from an incurable condition that causes continuous and unbearable suffering. The disease can be physical as well as psychological.

Applicants must go through several consultations with their doctor to ensure that the request is not an impulsive decision, and at least a month must pass between the application and the procedure. The doctor needs to consult with a second independent physician. In cases without a physical disease, a third doctor has to be consulted as well.

Usually, doctors inject patients with a lethal dose through an IV. They lose consciousness within a couple of seconds, then become comatose and die quietly within five minutes.

Separately, Belgians can also sign an advance directive that allows a doctor to administer euthanasia in case they end up in an irreversible coma. Not all Belgian hospitals agree to euthanasia requests, and doctors are not legally required to administer applications.

“The law is about giving people the final choice in how they envision a dignified end of life,” said Hannie Van den Bilcke, a consultant at Huis Van De Mens, a humanist organization.

“I want to emphasize ‘dignified,’” she added. “Any person can make the decision to end his or her life, but this law guarantees that it can happen in a dignified way, if you want to.”

The majority of applicants in 2010 and 2011 were between 60 and 79 years old, and more than 75 percent suffered from a severe form of cancer, according to the Belgian Evaluation Commission for Euthanasia.

The commission's 2012 report shows that non-terminally ill patients, like Verhelst, account for less than 10 percent of cases.

While extremely rare, Delbeke does welcome the option for these cases. “Psychological suffering is often underestimated,” she said. “People often consider the cases of terminally ill patients or patients who are suffering physically ‘worse’ than those of psychiatric patients whose suffering may continue for years. But does that mean that patients who don’t have a physical condition or patients with a very serious physical condition but who aren’t terminally ill have to go through an entire disease process and see themselves regress?”

Eddy and Marc Verbessem, Belgian twins who had been born deaf and had spent most of their lives together, relied on that aspect of the Belgian law when they chose to die through euthanasia in January 2013. The 45-year-old brothers suffered from an incurable disease and were slowly losing their sight in addition to their hearing.

"Many will wonder why my brothers have opted for euthanasia because there are plenty of deaf and blind that have a 'normal' life," Dirk Verbessem, their older sibling, told The Telegraph at the time. "But my brothers trudged from one disease to another. They were really worn out."

Euthanasia is illegal in the U.S. Some states, such as Washington, Oregon, Montana and Vermont, do allow for physician assisted suicide, in which doctors provide terminally ill patients with the means to end their own life but do not administer the lethal dose. Physician assisted suicide is not available for non-terminally ill patients.

Since Belgium adopted the law in 2002, reports indicate that the number of requests has risen each year. One of the country’s most famous authors, Hugo Claus, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, died by euthanasia in 2008.

Lawmakers in the country are currently looking into expanding the legislation to include minors, with written approval of their parents or legal guardian. The proposal is controversial, with opponents questioning children's ability to make such a hefty decision.

Van den Bilcke notes that the number of children that would qualify for euthanasia would be extremely low, given that they would have to have a terminal condition that causes them unbearable physical or psychological suffering. She wonders, then, why terminally-ill children who sometimes have been fighting for years should be forced to continue a futile battle.

“Not a single parent will consent to euthanasia without the feeling that this is the final step,” she said. “What parent gives up on his child?”

Scarred: Nathan Verhelst, 44, who died yesterday afternoon after finding life unbearable since his sex change operation. The scars from his surgeries on his chest and forearm are visible in this photograph

[Yksisarvi]

I read about this on the Daily Mailhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...bother-me.html and I can honestly say my heart broke for him. He would have had so much better life without a "mother" like that.

I hope he found his peace and happiness.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by Yksisarvi ↗

I read about this on the Daily Mailhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...bother-me.html and I can honestly say my heart broke for him. He would have had so much better life without a "mother" like that.

I hope he found his peace and happiness.

Very sad that incubators, (mothers), so heavily influence their children for the bad. He must have felt so alone

Most serial killers had domineering/abusive mothers.


Many thanks to Yksisarvi for the additional information.

Mother of Belgian Transsexual Who Chose to Die by Euthanasia After Botched Sex-Change Pperation Says 'Her Death Doesn't Bother Me'

•Nathan Verhelst, 44, who was born Nancy, said his parents rejected him

•His mother reveals how she though her child 'ugly' and feels no sorrow

•'We never had a bond which therefore cannot be broken,' she says

•Comes after Belgian euthanasia cases jumped 25 per cent in one year

•It is now the cause of nearly one in 50 deaths in the country

By Damien Gayle
2 October 2013

The mother of the Belgian transsexual who chose euthanasia after a botched sex change left him a 'monster' says she's 'not bothered' by her child's decision.

Nathan Verhelst, 44, died on Monday afternoon after being allowed have his life ended on the grounds of, 'unbearable psychological suffering'.

Mr Verhelst, who was born a girl named Nancy, before his death told how he had been an unwanted child - a pain which had affected him deeply that was today confirmed by his mother.

'When I first saw, "Nancy," my dream was shattered. She was so ugly,' she told Belgium's Het Laatste Nieuws. 'I had a ghost birth. Her death does not bother me.'

She said the farewell letter that Mr Verhelst had written to her explaining his reasons for choosing euthanasia had not yet arrived, adding, 'I will definitely read it, but it will be full of lies.

'For me, this chapter closed. Her death does not bother me. I feel no sorrow, no doubt or remorse. We never had a bond which could therefore not be broken.'

Hours before his death, Mr Verhelst had spoken of how, as a child, he, 'was the girl that nobody wanted,' describing how his mother had complained that she'd wished he'd been born a boy.

Rejected by his parents as a girl, he became a tomboy and later a lesbian. His transformation into a man in 2009, began with hormone therapy, followed by a mastectomy and finally an operation to construct a penis last year.

But the procedures did not go according to plan.

Heartbreaking End

It is understood to be the first time someone in Belgium has chosen euthanasia after a sex-change, and comes soon after it emerged that it is now the cause of nearly one in 50 deaths in the country

In the hours before his death, he told Het Laatse Nieuws, 'I was ready to celebrate my new birth. But when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted with myself.


BELGIUM'S CONTROVERSIAL EUTHANASIA LAWS

In 2002, Belgium became the second country in the world, after The Netherlands, to legalise euthanasia.

Since then, an increasing number of people have chosen to die using this method.

In 2012, 1,432 people were allowed to go through assisted suicide indicating a 25 per cent increase in the number of assisted deaths.

Guidelines set out by the country's parliament mean patients wishing to end their own lives must be conscious when they ask to die.

They also have to be under a, 'constant and unbearable physical or psychological pain,' resulting from an, 'accident or incurable illness'.

A survey earlier this year found 32 per cent of assisted deaths are done without request and 47% of the assisted deaths go unreported.

In one case, a 44-year-old woman with chronic anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder, was euthanised, along with a 64-year-old woman who was suffering from chronic depression.

The Belgian parliament is reportedly on the verge of passing legislation that would allow people under 18 to consent to euthanasia.

'My new breasts did not match my expectations and my new penis had symptoms of rejection. I do not want to be... a monster.'

Mr Verhelst's decision comes amid a fierce debate over euthanasia in Belgium, where the number of deaths due to the controversial practice soared by 25 per cent last year.'

Official figures showed the numbers opting to end their lives leap from 1,133 in 2011 to 1,432 in 2012, a figure representing about two per cent of all deaths in the country.

Euthanasia is legal under Belgian law if those making the decision can make their wishes clear and are suffering unbearable pain, according to a doctor's judgement.

The Belgian law differs from that of Switzerland, famous for its Dignitas clinic, where only 'assisted suicide' is permitted.

This means patients must play an active role in the administration of the drug that ends their lives.

Wim Distelmans, a cancer specialist who carried out the euthanasia of Mr Verhelst, is the same doctor who last year ended the lives of deaf twins Marc and Eddy Verbessem, who were both going blind.

The 45-year-olds, from the village of Putte, near the city of Mechelen, had lived together their entire adult lives and could not communicate with the outside world.

WHEN THE OPERATION GOES WRONG

Suicide rates among transsexuals and those who have undergone gender reassignment surgery are high with some suggesting the rate may be as high as 31 per cent.

Chris Hyde, professor at the University of Exeter, who has studied the issues surrounding sex change operations, told MailOnline, ‘Research we conducted a decade ago found there is huge uncertainty over whether changing someone's sex is a good or a bad thing.

‘While no doubt great care is taken to ensure that appropriate patients undergo gender reassignment, there's still a large number of people who have the surgery but remain traumatised - often to the point of committing suicide.

‘While we haven’t looked at the situation since then, given the difficulties in researching this area, it is likely that the same issues remain today.’

Their brother, Dirk Verbessem, said at the time that they were terrified of never being able to see each other and feared losing their independence in an institution.

Professor Distelmans agreed to end their lives - again on grounds of 'unbearable psychological suffering' - after their local hospital had denied their request for euthanasia.

Dr Distelmans told the Telegraph, 'The choice of Nathan Verhelst has nothing to do with fatigue of life.

'There are other factors that meant he was in a situation with incurable, unbearable suffering. Unbearable suffering for euthanasia can be both physical and psychological.

'This was a case that clearly met the conditions demanded by the law. Nathan underwent counseling for six months.'

Last week, it emerged that a staggering one in thirty deaths in the Netherlands are now from euthanasia, after Dutch government allowed mobile death squads to kill sick and elderly people in their homes.

The country became the first in the world since Nazi Germany to legalise euthanasia when in 2002, it approved doctor-administered lethal drugs for terminally ill people facing unbearable suffering.

Deaf Twins Chose to Die After Learning They Would go Blind

The cancer specialist who euthanised Nathan Verhelst is the same doctor who ended the lives of deaf twins who chose their fate after learning they would soon go blind.

Marc and Eddy Verbessem, pictured below, 45, had lived together their entire adult lives and could not communicate with the outside world.

Their brother, Dirk Verbessem, said they were terrified of never being able to see each other and feared losing their independence in an institution.

Marc and Eddy Verbessem, 45, had lived together their entire adult lives and could not communicate with the outside world

'That was for my brothers unbearable,' said Mr Verbessem, 46. 'They lived together, did their own cooking and cleaning. You could eat off the floor. Blindness would have made them completely dependent.'

The twins, from the village of Putte, near Mechelen, were told they would go blind from a genetically caused form of glaucoma.

The pair communicated with each other using a special sign language understood only by them and their close family.

They died by lethal injection at Brussels University Hospital in Jette just before Christmas last year, dressed in new shoes and suits, with Mr Verbessem and their parents, Mary and Remy, by their sides.

Mr Verbessem said, 'Marc and Eddy, (photo 2), waved again at us. "Up in the sky," they said. "Up in the sky," we replied. And then it was over.'

Photo 3 - The Dignitas building in Pfaeffikon near Zurich. In contrast to Belgian rules, under Swiss law only 'assisted suicide' is permitted - meaning patients must take an active role in administering the drug that ends their lives

[HairyGrape]

What a horrific piece of shit mother. I hope all of her friends read what a nasty bitch she is and disown her.

[Johnny Wadd]

So fucking sad

[Wench]

Mama needs a "size 16" kicked up her selfish ass.

[Shakey]

I have no problem with the concept of euthanasia.

[LordCerberus]

I will never understand how some people can go through life being happy, knowing that they have caused such emotional or physical distress on another human being to the point where they want to kill themselves. How can that "mother" even sleep at night, knowing what she has done to her own flesh & blood? I would normally say "May God have mercy on you" but in this case, I really hope He does not.

[dcaccount22]

That mother should be charged with murder, souless cow

[AnaleFaust]

The dude must have been going through hell. I can't think of anything worse than your own mother turning her back on you