A 17-year-old girl who was raped as a young child has been legally euthanised at her home in the Netherlands following ‘unbearable’ suffering.
Noa Pothoven died on Sunday in her living room after battling mental health problems for years.
Pothoven had been subjected to sexual assaults and rapes as a small girl leading to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anorexia.
The teenager wrote on Instagram a day before she died to give reasons why she decided to die.
“I deliberated for quite a while whether or not I should share this, but decided to do it anyway. After years of battling and fighting, I am drained,” she wrote.
“Maybe this comes as a surprise to some, given my posts about hospitalisation, but my plan has been there for a long time and is not impulsive. I will get straight to the point: within a maximum of 10 days I will die.
“I have quit eating and drinking for a while now, and after many discussions and evaluations, it was decided to let me go because my suffering is unbearable.”
Pothoven’s mother, Lisette, had always supported her, she said, but according to Dutch law, she did have a say in her daughter’s decision.
She had written an autobiography called “Winning or Learning” detailing her struggles with mental health.
Euthanasia also known as assisted suicide has been legal in the Netherlands since 2002.
Children as young as 12 can be euthanised in the country but only after a doctor certifies that their suffering is unbearable with no clear resolution in sight.
