Deaf Belgian twins granted wish to die
2013-01-14 22:29
Brussels - Identical Belgian twin brothers, born deaf,
becoming blind and unable to bear not being able to see and hear each other,
had their wish to die granted in a case testing the boundaries of legal
euthanasia.
Doctors gave the 45-year-old twins lethal injections
after they had had a cup of coffee together and said goodbye to each other, a
spokesperson at the UZ Brussel hospital said on Monday.
"It's not simply that they were deaf and blind that
they were granted the right to euthanasia. It is that they could no longer bear
being unable to hear or see the other," he said.
Belgium is one of few countries where euthanasia is
legal.
A patient must be an adult, capable of making a judgment,
and the wish to die must be voluntary, overwhelming and repeated. The patient
must also be suffering persistent and unbearable mental or physical pain beyond
medical help.
In addition, the condition must be serious and incurable,
and have been brought on by illness or injury.
"Unbearable suffering can be mental as well as
physical," the hospital spokesperson said. "The brothers were
inseparable. They lived together and had the same job."
He said the brothers died on 14 December and that their
family supported their wishes.
Belgium legalised euthanasia in 2002 and the number of
cases has risen every year since.
In 2011, 1 133 were granted the right to die, of which 86%
were at least 60 years old and 72% suffering from cancer.
The Netherlands and Luxembourg have both decriminalised
euthanasia.
Switzerland allows assisted suicide if the person
concerned takes an active role.
