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Subscribe to RSSA pair of adult identical twins in Belgium have been legally killed at their request, the men's doctor told journalists.
The 45-years-old men, who were born deaf, spent their lives side-by-side — growing up together and then, as adults, sharing an apartment and working as cobblers together, according to Belgian media reports.
The men’s names have not been released but photographs of the identical twins from the Antwerp region have been made available to some media outlets.
Their doctor, David Dufour, told Belgium’s RTL Television over the weekend that the two men had been losing their eyesight for several years and soon would have been completely blind. The prospect of being blind as well as deaf was unbearable to them, he said.
"They were fully aware of their decision," Dufour said.
After winning approval from the necessary authorities, the two men received lethal injections at a Belgian hospital in December.
Dufour described their last moments: "They had a last cup of coffee and everything was fine. They said goodbye to their parents and brother and all was serene. They waved — and that was that."
Under a 2002 law, Belgians are allowed to end their own lives if a doctor judges an individual has made his or her wishes clear and is suffering unbearable pain.
The case of the twins was unusual because the two men were not approaching the end of their natural lives nor were they terminally ill.
But Jacqueline Herremans, a member of the Belgian Commission of Euthanasia, told RTL that they did meet the legal requirements as their suffering was grave and incurable. When they became blind as well as deaf, he said, they would not have been able to lead autonomous lives, and that with only a sense of touch they had no prospects of a future.
She acknowledged this was an exceptional case.
"Evidently they had a particular destiny. They were two human beings who have lived together, grown up together, worked together and wanted to die together. Their suffering may not have been physical, but there was psychological suffering," she said.
In 2010 and 2011, a total of 2,086 people died by euthanasia in Belgium, according to the country’s Euthanasia Commission.
Belgium is now looking at introducing a legal amendment that would allow children and those with dementia the option of seeking permission to die. If passed later this year, the option of euthanasia will be extended to minors affected by an incurable illness, or suffering that cannot be alleviated.
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That took guts but I understand their situation. God bless both of them.
I envy the Belgians for living in such a humane country. Both my mother and her mother died from Alzheimers, after months of suffering for everybody involved. It would make me feel less anxious if I knew that when I get Alzheimers (not if, but when) I could choose the time that I could just say goodbye and go peacefully. But that will never happen in the USA -- too many Catholics and other religious nuts telling everybody else how to live and when to die!
The problem with Alzheimers is that you really would not be capable of making that decision for yourself, and would you really want someone else making that decision for you if you couldn't? THAT is the "slippery slope".
Terriels - Yes, I WOULD want someone making that decision for me, because lacking the ability to leave instructions of that sort, given my values, I will need to kill myself as soon as I lose enough cognitive capacity that I can no longer work. If it didn't cause financial disaster for my husband, I might want to live a little longer while I could still enjoy simple pleasures. But I am not willing to lose my intelligence, memory and identity and become a virtual zombie, and I will not take the risk of accidentally sliding down the natural "slippery slope" of dementia to the point where I did forget which end of the gun to stick in my mouth.
My elderly father is going downhill with probable Alzheimer's right now. He's one of the three smartest people I've ever known, but could be fairly described as passive and conventional, and he would never have considered suicide. That's his choice, and I respect it. He's already too dependent on my mother to get away with it if he did want to consider it, and it's likely that soon he won't have the mental capacity to consider it. From that point it's all downhill to the nursing home bed. I'm not going to go that way, no matter what I have to do to prevent it. Wouldn't it be better if I could leave notarized instructions telling my doctors to euthanize me when I could no longer consistently recognize my loved ones, then just live until that happens? It's not like there's any hope of recovery from dementia (except for the cases where people get off their statins or overactive-bladder drugs and suddenly their "Alzheimer's" goes away - not applicable in my Dad's case). There's no "Maybe if we keep Grandma alive a bit longer she'll recover." It only gets worse, and death is the end in any case.
Celia - Washington and Oregon both have Death With Dignity Laws that allow you to choose to your own end in certain circumstances. Move to one of them and when Alzheimers happens, while you are still able, make your own choice, it is possiable in the United States, just in the right places.
Celia....you will find that many Catholics are quite open minded to your circumstances. I, for one, agree that there is no point and no justification for useless suffering.
Sounds like the kind of health care Oduma wants for us here in the USA.
Grow up, NewTampa.
I can't tell if you are being serious or sarcastic. I'd like to see you point to your source that this is what he has planned for us as he has never mentioned any reference to "the right to die" argument.
In all honesty, I would welcome that option as we do have people who are suffering from illnesses that do trap people in their own bodies while suffering pain and frustration at the loss of their ability to live a somewhat normal life. There is no treatment available to anyone suffering from any illnesses like that, only the ability to try to make them as comfortable as possible until they pass away of natural causes. For some, that could be quite a long wait time while feeling tortured.
I am glad they had each other, so that neither was going alone. RIP.
There is nothing in the Bible that forbids suicide!
You mean "Thou shall not kill" does not apply here?
How about, "thou shalt not kill." Forget about that one, did ya?
it doesn't say "thou shalt not kill thyself"
Wrong! TRy reading the old testement!
In the final analysis it was their lives and therefore their choice. The only thing society has to do is to decide whether it is going to assist them or let them commit suicide. However, omission is not really an answer. I am glad for them that they had the choice to end their lives painlessly with dignity. We all die and how we die should be our decision if possible. I don't want to make yours for you and don't want you making mine for me.
better thqan common
I thought obama care was going to be the solution, just get infirm and check out.
i can't believe the posts i am reading here. Some of you guys are fu@#$d up
I guess Helen Keller should have committed suicide as well. I guess these guys are such a burden no loved one would have cared for them with out feeling resentful.
Or maybe their family respected the fact that they didn't want to be a burden.
Amazing thought, isn't it? (sarcasm)
Each case is handled differently. But also keep in mind that at the time of Keller's raising, the right to die was not really discussed. Her parents sought to find help with their daughter and Keller proved that she wanted to live and learn. These men felt differently. They went through the system where they were approved to be euthanized. It's a personal choice. Keller wanted to live. These men wanted to die and their family supported them after, what I am sure, was a long conversation and understanding on both sides. Each case will be different depending on the individual's involved.
Exactly. The issue here is personal autonomy, and one that should extend to death as well as life in any civilized nation.
Reading about this made me sad, as I personally couldn't see ending my life over their situation. However, with that being said, it was their decision to make in regards to their own lives, and I'm glad they lived in a place where it was possible to make that decision in a positive environment.
May they rest in peace. I found it wonderful their family was there and supportive. They were individuals allowed to make a choice regarding THEIR lives. That is the key. No courts and arguments by family contesting the decisions they made for themselves. I am their same age and it made me feel so at ease hearing their story. Here you can't hardly have a will or a DNR without it being contested. We should never have to worry about the end of our lives and what those left behind are going to do. That only makes for a miserable death when it should be peaceful. We are a sadly selfish society. Every pet that I have had that was terminal with cancer or at a very old age I felt spoke to me when it was their time to release. They were held by me and I was the last one they saw in the end. I almost had a jealousy wishing I could face the same courtesy when it's my time. I hope when it really is my time that we have advanced enough as a society to respect the wishes of that person and it will be allowed. I respect those that wish to do all they can for themselves even though I would not do the same for me.
Helen Keller had the condition know as deafblindness. Its the condition of little or no useful sight and little or no useful hearing. Educationally, individuals are considered to be deafblind when the combination of their hearing and sight loss causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they require significant and unique adaptations in their educational programs. So there was hope for Helen. BTW she was the first deafblind person to earn a Bacholar of Arts degree.
Overall I agree that losing ones sight as a older person, but then being deaf all their life, well I feel its their right to end their life with dignity.
What they chose was a complete cop-out and showed how cowardly they were. What they did was no different than commit suicide, which is the utmost show of being self centered and selfish.
I am stating that because of having sustained a Severe Traumatic Brain Injury as well as having to use a brace and cane to be able to walk. That is not counting having to use hearing aides to be able to understand what was said. Then having to take to seizure meds for the rest of my life.
That would be the choice you made. Tell us, how much were your medical bills in treating the Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, the hearing aide, possible physical therapy and the meds for life. Maybe these guys didn't have the money to pay for a personal aide to take care of them the rest of their lives or didn't want to live in a state institution the rest of their lives.
You were fortunate enough to have the choice to get treatment and continual medications and treatments, if you didn't have the money for those things would you have chosen to live with your condition unaided?
I don't judge you just as I don't judge these men, we all have to make hard choices and the only person who can truly say if it was a "cop-out" was the person who made the decision. I have no problem with the idea that life is precious and we should make the most out of it, but we all have to decide how much pain and suffering is bearable and whether the life we have left is worth living.
OK God, I mean, concerned vet. You should have been sent over to visit the gentlemen to beat some sense into them with your cane.
Now lets equalize matters: They lost their hearing and were losing their sight. Allow yourself to not use your hearing aids, cane and brace for 45 years. Yes ability to walk doesn't equal the ability to see so lets fix your legs and poke out your eyes. Now spent your life in Belgium from the day you were born.
The point is you have no empathy. You never walked in their shoes. Everyone deals with their own lives with what they got to work with. I had what could have been described as a Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (some robbers broke into my house and clobbered me. i was 16 at the time, i woke up in the hospital four days later finding out that i lost all control of the left side of my body and a bit of depth perception and orientation. Took about a year to recover most of everything i lacked at the time). Very few people could understand what I was experiancing. My condition was correctable.
I will not not call the gentlemen cowards.
You need to call them cowards because you think your condition is worse than their's, damn armchair quarterback.
Well said MrRighteous, well said.
terriels,
Alzheimers can be diagnosed long before you completely lose your cognitive powers. An example of this is Pat Summit, the University of Tennessee basketball coach. Doctors are able to diagnose the disease while you can still make decisions about your future treatment -- they just cannot cure the disease! It is not a slippery slope at all. You would decide when you want to go and your doctors and family would know in advance at what stage to help you end it. My mother knew she had Alzheimers while she was still able to update powers of attorney and her living will. She just could not legally decide when she wanted to be allowed to die.
Wonderful point Celia S. And based on your mother's wishes would you (it sounds like you would) honer whatever her decision is for her life end? Or would you contest it because you wanted to spend as much time as possible with her even if her quality of life may be suffering? I think that's the quandry that faces so many people. We all have our beliefs and I think sometimes it's difficult if our beliefs are different than the person that makes the decision with their life then it becomes an issue. That should fall under respect for that person's wishes and not under what my belief is. It's always tough and hope the situation with your mother is/was ok for you.
It won't be long before Belgian assisted-suicide vacations are as commonplace as Las Vegas weddings or Amsterdam pot tourism!
Not ONE of the people who post here, have the RIGHT to Judge these to individuals.
Opinion yes; Judge, No.
Sad; almost as sad as the moronic comments in this discussion concerning President Obama.
To those who wonder why "anyone who bent on suicide needs help of a physician" : there are paralyzed people and people who are very weak who are unable to kill themselves. Also, assisted suicide in reputable place guarantees you passing with dignity after saying goodbye to relatives instead of hanging in a closet, drowning in own vomit from poisoning, giving some poor driver trauma for life or smashing your head on asphalt. All of the above may leave you with brain damage and paralyzed instead of killing you plus leaving your loved ones in confusion and pain.
I agree. Should loved ones find the brains of their loved ones splattered on the wall, should they find them lying in bed dead from an overdose. Why can't we take a reasonable humane position on suicide? Why is it that if someone truly no longer wants to live in this world we have to assume that they are mentally ill or in need of medication? If someone seeks suicide, should we see if there is anything we can do to help them or get them to change their mind? Sure, but in the end it is the God given power of free will.
In the end you have to question a society that has no problem judging and convicting a person for a crime and then putting them to death (while arguing about what the most humane way of doing that is). Then, at the same time unwilling to even entertain the idea of assisted suicide. I guess those who live in pain and suffer should commit some horrendous atrocity just so the state would consider letting them die in a humane way.
good for Belgium... why shouldn't people of sound mind, at the end of there own life and/or in horrific pain from diseases have the choice to have somebody help them to finish there lives with dignity. your life is just that, your life! we have all seen family and friends suffer in agony for days weeks months and maybe even year from ailments they have. i wish now when my time comes if i am to go in a horrible way cancer or what, that maybe the US gov will allow me to get help from someone to shut off the lights and leave in peace... R.I.P.
Just think how much cheaper healthcare would be in the US if terminally ill people were allowed to do this. If I had a choice between endless and pointless treatments that drive my family to ruin, or a civilized ending, I'd choose the latter every time. Seems like that system in Belgium is pretty solid. Too bad religious freaks and special interests will never let that happen here. Hell, we can't even agree on how to spend money we don't have.
I can't imagine having to face that decision. I think they had the right to make that decision for themselves and I applaud their government for allowing it to be so. This is sad but they felt they had no way out. I don't know what I would do but I reserve their right to do it.
In Oregon we have the "Death with Dignity Act". Despite the numerous attempts by the Federal Government to overturn it.
This is especially poignant for me as my brother has been diagnosed with advanced liver cancer. His medical options are very limited due to Hep C (an epidemic amongst veterans). We have extensively discussed his options, including assisted suicide. He has decided that he will not prolong his agony. Once all possible options are gone, he will take this route. "Quality not Quantity"
While never an easy decision. I understand how these gentlemen came to it. I hope the Great Spirit grants them peace on the journey.
First - enjoy your brothers company as long as you can, and continue please to support him in his choice.
ANd I was wondering when someone would mention the Oregon law.
Holly,
Thank you for your words. I do and will enjoy his company, even after he is gone.
We have lived lives that many would not understand. We have spent more time under the stars than under a roof. We can laugh and make jokes about his fate. We both understand that death is the end of the circle and nobody can avoid it.
I will be supportive all the way to the end. I will be with him to share his final vision. I have agreed to take him out to the forest for his final moment. I do not know if that vision will be snow flakes falling or an eagle soaring. But I do know that my vision will be blurred by tears.
Kyllyk - sorry about your brother having to go through this...and you also.
He sounds like a solid guy, able to logically discuss his choice of life.
May his each day and journey be peaceful...may you enjoy the moments and the memories.
Peace to both of you.
This is sad because they are not in physical pain, they are just afraid of being helpless or dependent- I think they should have looked into providing solutions to this double handicap- they had such good chances having had sight for so long to be able to adjust eventually. I don't know this countries policies or the help available but they must have witnessed much unpleasantness for such a request- they sound like they needed a safe place to live and have privacy. Most likely they could have done meaningful work in something or retired early and still had a meaningful life with some help- shame on the Belgium!- another sign the world is overpopulating and degrading live styles.
Um, no. It's harder to adapt to blindness in middle age than to be blind from birth and grow up reading with your fingertips and doing everything you ever learn how to do without sight. Imagine losing your sight and trying to learn how to go out and navigate the world with a cane - but you can't ask strangers for help or direction, you can't hear traffic or announcements on public transportation, because hey, you're also deaf! How would they accomplish basic tasks like shopping or getting repairs done? They would have to have an assistant to monitor their living conditions and take care of everything for them. What kind of meaningful work do you think they could do - stringing beads that someone's sorted into colors for them? And why do you think that they should live such a limited life so that your sense of what is moral can be satisfied?
This is a nightmare. People actually making their own decision.
I would have done the same...So sad...
concerned veteran wrote:
What they chose was a complete cop-out and showed how cowardly they were. What they did was no different than commit suicide, which is the utmost show of being self centered and selfish. I am stating that because of having sustained a Severe Traumatic Brain Injury as well as having to use a brace and cane to be able to walk. That is not counting having to use hearing aides to be able to understand what was said. Then having to take to seizure meds for the rest of my life.
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Good for you, but that has NOTHING to do with them and their decision. And you are a coward for slinging such crappy judgement from behind your selfish anonymity.