Why a happily married Dutch couple decided to die together
Jan Faber (70) and Els van Leeningen (71), a Dutch couple who had been together since kindergarten, chose euthanasia to end their lives. Both were suffering from severe health conditions—Jan had a debilitating back problem, while Els was diagnosed with progressive dementia. "If you take a lot of medicine, you live like a zombie. So with the pain I have, and Els's illness, I think we have to stop this," Jan told the BBC.
Couple's final moments together before euthanasia
The couple, married for nearly half a century, had their final meal with their son who chose to remain anonymous. The emotional experience was shared by the son with BBC, "I remember we were having dinner in the evening, and I got tears in my eyes just watching us all having that final dinner together." Els echoed her husband's sentiments about euthanasia saying, "There is no other solution."
Euthanasia in the Netherlands: A legal perspective
Euthanasia became legal in the Netherlands under the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act in 2001, with the law taking effect in 2002. The country was the first to legalize euthanasia. As per the official website, euthanasia requests are made by "patients experiencing unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement."
