Woman Chooses Euthanasia on 34th Birthday Due to Depression, Eating Disorder Struggles: 'I Want to Step Out of Life'
“I’ve been struggling with this my whole life,” said Jolanda Fun, whose life ended on April 25By
Vanessa Etienne
Updated on April 26, 2024 02:09PM EDT
A 33-year-old woman in the Netherlands opened up about her decision to end her life with euthanasia on April 25, her 34th birthday, rather than living with her mental health struggles.
Jolanda Fun, from North Brabant, spoke to The Times about being diagnosed with an eating disorder, recurrent depression, autism and mild learning difficulties. She said she’s tried countless therapies but has struggled her entire life.
“Dark, overstimulation, chaos in my head, loneliness,” she told the outlet. “Most of the time I just feel really sh!tty. Sad, down, gloomy. People don’t see it, because that’s the mask I put on and that’s what you learn to do in life.”
Although she has parents, a brother, a few friends, and a dog, Fun said she’s been living in constant pain. So when a counselor told her two years ago that euthanasia for psychiatric reasons was legal, she made it her goal ever since, admitting that she’s always thought about death.
“My father is sick, my mother is sick, my parents are fighting to stay alive, and I want to step out of life,” Fun explained. “That’s a bit strange. But even when I was seven, I asked my mother whether, if I jumped from a viaduct, I would be dead. I’ve been struggling with this my whole life.”
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The procedure became legal in the Netherlands when the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act was passed in April 2001, taking into effect in April 2002. With its passing, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to make euthanasia legal, per BBC News. The country's official government websitestates that the procedure is performed by a physician who administers "a fatal dose of a suitable drug to the patient on his or her express request."
"Requests for euthanasia often come from patients experiencing unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement,” the website states. “Their request must be made earnestly and with full conviction. They see euthanasia as the only escape from the situation. However, patients have no absolute right to euthanasia and doctors no absolute duty to perform it.”
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Woman Lying Sick in Hospital.
Getty
Fun told the outlet that her case was initially turned down by the Expertisecentrum Euthanasie, the institution that typically handles complex cases. However, she found a psychiatrist who was willing to carry it out. Following Dutch requirements, she also found two other doctors to agree.
“The rules are very strict,” she said. “You don’t just get euthanasia, there’s a whole journey… But it is death in a dignified way: painless, done by a doctor. Your loved ones can be there. And nobody discovers you in an appalling state — or you don’t end up unlucky and even worse off than before [after attempting suicide].”
Fun ultimately opted for euthanasia on her 34th birthday, April 25, preparing her own funeral invitations beforehand that read: “Born from love, let go in love. After a hard-fought life, she chose the peace she so longed for.”
