From the Telegraph, with my views, where it says (My words.)
This happened yesterday in Belgium.
Euthanasia
twins 'had nothing to live for'
The two deaf twins killed by
legal euthanasia in Belgium were frightened of losing their independence in an
institution and had "nothing to live for".
Marc and Eddy Verbessem had spent their entire lives together, sharing a
flat and both working as cobblers
The two men, both
aged 45, named as Marc and Eddy Verbessem, from the village of Putte, near the
city of Mechelen, were both born deaf and asked for a mercy killing after
finding that they would also soon go blind.
Dirk Verbessem,
46, explained that his younger brothers had lived together for all their adult
lives and could not communicate with the outside world.
"Their great fear was that they would no longer be able to see each other. That was for my brothers unbearable," he said.
The deaf twin brothers had spent their entire lives together, sharing a flat while both working as cobblers and could only communicate with special sign language understood by each other and their immediate family.
"They lived together, did their own cooking and cleaning. You could eat off the floor. Blindness would have made them completely dependent. They did not want to be in an institution," said Mr Verbessem.
"I sometimes
think, if they had their own wives and children, perhaps they would have had
something to live for."
(My words)
“If I didn’t have
my baby at the time, I would not be here now.”
The brother and
his parents, Mary and Remy, tried to stop the twins but were eventually
persuaded by them that their lives should be ended under Belgium's euthanasia laws.
After enlisting
the support of their local doctor, it took the twins almost two years to find a
medical institution to administer a lethal injection after being turned down by
their local hospital.
Four weeks ago, dressed in new shoes and suits, Marc and Eddy bid
farewell to their parents and brother at Brussels University Hospital in Jette.
"I tried to talk them out of it even at the last moment," said
their brother. "Together with my parents, I said goodbye. Marc and Eddy
waved again at us. 'Up in the sky,' they said. 'Up in the sky,' we replied. And
then it was over."
David Dufour, their local doctor, told The Daily Telegraph that as well
as congenital deafness and approaching blindness caused by a genetically caused
form of glaucoma, the twins had other severe medical problems.
"All that together made life unbearable. I have been very surprised
but there is so much interest and debate about this," he said.
Dr Dufour said that the Verbessem family had overcome their opposition
to the idea of euthanasia to help the twins make their case to doctors. "I
have boundless respect for their parents and brother," he said.
"Their family gave them the best, but hardest gift."
Under Belgian law euthanasia is allowed if a patient is able to make
their wishes clear and a doctor judges that they are suffering unbearable pain.
The Verbessem case is unusual because neither of the men was terminally
ill nor suffering physical pain.
Professor Wim Distelmans, the doctor that took the decision to euthanise
the twins, defended his decision.
"It's the first time in the world that a 'double euthanasia' has
been performed on brothers," he said. "There was certainly unbearable
psychological suffering for them. Though there is of course it always possible
to stretch the interpretation of that. One doctor will evaluate differently
than the other."
(My words)
“When I lost my eyesight, the pain was like dying a slow death.”
Last month, Belgium's government announced plans to amend the law to
allow the euthanasia of children and Alzheimer's sufferers. If passed, the new
law will allow euthanasia to be "extended to minors if they are capable of
discernment or affected by an incurable illness or suffering that we cannot
alleviate".
(My words)
“I think that is despicable. What if there will be a cure for
the children by the time they are in their twenties?
Chris Gastmans,
professor of medical ethics at the Catholic University of Leuven, expressed
fear over the wider implications for the welfare of disabled people after the
assisted suicide.
"In a society as wealthy as ours, we must find another, caring way
to deal with human frailty," he said.
(My words)
“I wonder if the Professor, lives in a perfect world, with
no disability?”
Thank you to the Telegraph for this.
This is so sad, is'nt it?
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