A 22-year-old renounces euthanasia at the last second

Seconds before a young Dutch woman was about to voluntarily end her life, she changed her mind.

Romy, 22, who suffered from clinical depression, eating disorders and anorexia due to childhood abuse, made the heartbreaking decision to end her life in accordance with Dutch law which allows euthanasia in certain circumstances.

She decided not to go ahead at the very last moment.

After turning 18, Romy campaigned for four years for her right to die via voluntary assistance in dying (ADM) with doctors, authorities and her family.

But in 2023, when she found herself lying in a hospital bed in the Dutch city of Leiden, she suddenly had a change of heart.

Earlier in the day, she had seen the coffin in which she would be taken to the morgue.

His mother was by his side and his brother was waiting in the hospital garden for everything to end.

Last question the doctor asked him

The doctor stood over her and explained to her one last time the step-by-step process of what she was going to do as part of the lethal injection process under her euthanasia laws. country.

Romy gave the doctor the all-clear, but she was sweating and her heart was pounding as she contemplated the finality of what was about to happen, she said.

As the doctor approached to administer the lethal injection, he was asked one final question to comply with Dutch law: “Are you sure?” »

Romy, whose last name was withheld, wasn’t sure.

She started crying, just like her mother, and she decided to call the whole thing off.

“I don’t regret the trip”: Romy’s life now

After initially opting out of euthanasia, Romy again requested to end her life and was scheduled to receive a lethal injection at a later date.

However, with persistent support from her psychiatrist, family and friends, she decided to continue trauma therapy and now expresses that she wants “nothing more than to live.”

“I don’t regret the trip. Because I have been so close to death, I view life as something precious. It won’t always go well, but I know now that there is light at the end of the tunnel,” she told Dutch newspaper NRC.

Today, Romy is studying for an adult education diploma and lives in a municipal assisted living facility.

When the publication asked her what gave her hope, she laughed: “This is going to sound crazy: I really liked paying rent. It gives meaning to my life.

Euthanasia accounts for five percent of deaths in the Netherlands

Twenty-three years ago, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to decriminalize active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

Euthanasia is practiced on a voluntary basis for patients who demonstrate “sincerely and with conviction” that they are experiencing unbearable suffering with no possibility of improvement.

Last year, 9,068 people died by euthanasia in the Netherlands, an increase from 8,720 in 2022, representing more than five percent of all deaths in the country.

Almost all cases of euthanasia involve a lethal injection administered by a doctor.

Is VAD legal in Australia?

VAD is legal in all Australian states except the Northern Territory and will be available in the ACT from November 3, 2025.

Although each state’s laws differ slightly, they share similarities.

A person is eligible if they: are 18 years of age or over, are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, have the capacity to make decisions about VAD, are acting voluntarily and without coercion, have a persistent application for VAD, are suffering from an illness or an advanced health condition that will result in death or is incurable (time limits vary by state) and endures suffering that cannot be relieved in a way the person finds tolerable.

A person is not eligible for VAD solely on the basis of a disability or mental illness – they must meet all other criteria to access VAD.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, you can call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or visit SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.