Deaf Belgian Twins, Euthanized After Starting To Turn Blind

[جوري]

Euthanized After Starting To Turn Blind

By Eline Gordts Posted: 01/14/2013 1:30 pm EST | Updated: 01/14/2013 11:32 pm EST




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Two Belgian brothers who were born deaf and were slowly going blind chose to end their lives the way they began them: together. The dual deaths of the identical twins last month marked the first reported double euthanasia of twins worldwide.
Marc and Eddy Verbessem, 45, were inseparable during their lives, the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reports. Suffering from an incurable illness, the pair shared a room in their parental home before studying shoe repair and moving in together in a small apartment.
But when Marc and Eddy learned they were slowly going blind in addition to already being deaf, the twins feared losing all possible means of communicating with one another. "The thought of only being able to feel each other was unbearable," Het Laatste Nieuws writes, according to a HuffPost translation.
"Physically, their conditions were strongly deteriorating," Dr. David Dufour, who treated the brothers, explained to VTM. When the brothers learned their bid for euthanasia was accepted, "a weight fell off their shoulders," Dufour added. "They were happy and relieved that a date was set to end their suffering."
Belgium is one of only three countries that allow euthanasia for non-terminally ill patients, the others being Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Belgian law permits euthanasia when a patient declares the assisted suicide to be his or her own wish and doctors agree the patient is in unbearable physical or psychological pain.
The brothers Verbessem's application for assisted suicide was controversial, however, and the first hospital they approached declined their bid. "There is a law, but that is clearly open to various interpretations. If any blind or deaf are allowed to euthanize, we are far from home. I do not think this was what the legislation meant by 'unbearable suffering'," doctors at the first hospital said, according to The Telegraph.

Dirk Verbassem, the brothers' older sibling, told the Telegraph that Marc and Eddy's life had become insufferable. "Many will wonder why my brothers have opted for euthanasia because there are plenty of deaf and blind that have a 'normal' life," he said. "But my brothers trudged from one disease to another. They were really worn out."
De Volkskrant writes that Marc and Eddy were happy and calm on the day of their deaths. They were cremated and buried together in identical urns.
Assisted suicide remains a controversial topic worldwide, even in the case of terminally-ill patients. Last week, an Irish court denied a woman who was terminally-ill with multiple sclerosis the right to end her life.
"It would be impossible to ensure the aged, disabled, poor, unwanted, rejected, etc. would not avail of this option to avoid a sense being a burden on their families and society," Judge Nicholas Kearns told the Court, according to Reuters.
In the UK, 58-year-old Tony Nicklinson died in August 2012, one week after a court denied him the right to assisted suicide. Nicklinson suffered from locked-in syndrome and was paralyzed since 2005. The BBC reported he died from a pneumonia after refusing food.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...6pLid%3D257096

[YusufNoor]

i read that this morning. that's messed up!

[جوري]

'tis unfortunate indeed.. just so long as they don't export this to the Muslim world then they can do whatever they want in their own back yard- although I can't imagine many doctors agreeing to being a part of this. It goes against everything medicine is about.
So far Oregon is the only state where this is allowed in the U.S.. I wonder if a few more have been added to the list since.

[Woodrow]

:sl:

I'm at a bit of a loss for words. But to just express my views in a bit of rambling may be the only way I can.

This is an example of a mass failure. Something is wrong with a world in which euthanasia has become an accepted "medical treatment".

We have now made death a medical choice and a goal of treatment. Today it is an option for those who have been brain washed into believing it is the best choice, tomorrow it will be the "solution" for those found to be a burden on society.

Yep, we just may see the day when "permanent sleep" at the "Happy Days Euthanasia Clinic" replaces retirement and is the "Cure" for the chronically disabled.

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[جوري]

You express far better than I could br. Woodrow - doctors are meant to treat or palliate but not play God!

:jz:

[unknown12]

You express far better than I could br. Woodrow - doctors are meant to treat or palliate but not play God!

:jz:

Wow, interesting story...

That's crazy.

[LauraS]

Who knows how much those brothers suffered? It says in the article they "trudged through one disease after another" and on top of that they were deaf and blind? And Tony Nicklinson cried when he found he had been denied the right to die, because he was suffering. It's a tricky one.

[Ramadan90]

I do not know anything about these brothers and how much they have suffered, but from what I have read, it is understandable that they want to die. Especially when you dont believe in Allah. Whats the point of living if you cant see or hear anything(from an non-muslim perspective)? I think some muslims here need to see from both sides.

[جوري]

Who knows how much those brothers suffered? It says in the article they "trudged through one disease after another" and on top of that they were deaf and blind? And Tony Nicklinson cried when he found he had been denied the right to die, because he was suffering. It's a tricky one.

Suffering and pain is always a subjective topic. Suicide however, especially one by a doctor is a major issue- We can't assess suffering, it is based on personal statement and frankly that's not enough reason to end life.
Suffering is something mankind is meant to endure, it strengthens character, creates experience and enriches the individual on their journey to wisdom.

I do not know anything about these brothers and how much they have suffered, but from what I have read, it is understandable that they want to die. Especially when you dont believe in Allah. Whats the point of living if you cant see or hear anything(from an non-muslim perspective)? I think some muslims here need to see from both sides.

We don't know what will happen tomorrow.. so long as there's life, there's hope.. There's advancement in science, there are new things to learn. I can think of worse things than going deaf and blind.. surely deafness and blindness don't in isolation cause death. They're but two functions out of billions of others..
If Helen Keller could learn to live and give with all her conditions then there's no reason those two couldn't have..
I don't find it moral from a medical perspective and couldn't have articulated it better than Br. Woodrow. Ultimately our jobs as physicians is to heal, help heal or palliate but not end life. when Allah :swt: wants people, he gathers them, it isn't our duty to send them there before their appointed term!


:w:

[سيف الله]

Salaam

:sl:

I'm at a bit of a loss for words. But to just express my views in a bit of rambling may be the only way I can.

This is an example of a mass failure. Something is wrong with a world in which euthanasia has become an accepted "medical treatment".

We have now made death a medical choice and a goal of treatment. Today it is an option for those who have been brain washed into believing it is the best choice, tomorrow it will be the "solution" for those found to be a burden on society.

Yep, we just may see the day when "permanent sleep" at the "Happy Days Euthanasia Clinic" replaces retirement and is the "Cure" for the chronically disabled.

You spoke to soon Uncle imsad


Let elderly people 'hurry up and die', says Japanese minister

Taro Aso says he would refuse end-of-life care and would 'feel bad' knowing treatment was paid for by government


Japan's new government is barely a month old, and already one of its most senior members has insulted tens of millions of voters by suggesting that the elderly are an unnecessary drain on the country's finances.

Taro Aso, the finance minister, said on Monday that the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die" to relieve pressure on the state to pay for their medical care.

"Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die. I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being paid for by the government," he said during a meeting of the national council on social security reforms. "The problem won't be solved unless you let them hurry up and die."

Aso's comments are likely to cause offence in Japan, where almost a quarter of the 128 million population is aged over 60. The proportion is forecast to rise to 40% over the next 50 years. The remarks are also an unwelcome distraction for the new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, whose first period as Japan's leader ended with his resignation after just a year, in 2007, partly due to a string of gaffes by members of his cabinet. Rising welfare costs, particularly for the elderly, were behind a decision last year to double consumption [sales] tax to 10% over the next three years, a move Aso's Liberal Democratic party supported.

The 72-year-old, who doubles as deputy prime minister, said he would refuse end-of-life care. "I don't need that kind of care," he said in comments quoted by local media, adding that he had written a note instructing his family to deny him life-prolonging medical treatment.

To compound the insult, he referred to elderly patients who are no longer able to feed themselves as "tube people". The health and welfare ministry, he added, was "well aware that it costs several tens of millions of yen" a month to treat a single patient in the final stages of life.

Cost aside, caring for the elderly is a major challenge for Japan's stretched social services. According to a report this week, the number of households receiving welfare, which include family members aged 65 or over, stood at more than 678,000, or about 40% of the total. The country is also tackling a rise in the number of people who die alone, most of whom are elderly. In 2010, 4.6 million elderly people lived alone, and the number who died at home soared 61% between 2003 and 2010, from 1,364 to 2,194, according to the bureau of social welfare and public health in Tokyo.

The government is planning to reduce welfare expenditure in its next budget, due to go into force this April, with details of the cuts expected within days.

Aso, who has a propensity for verbal blunders, later attempted to clarify his comments. He acknowledged his language had been "inappropriate" in a public forum and insisted he was talking only about his personal preference.

"I said what I personally believe, not what the end-of-life medical care system should be," he told reporters. "It is important that you be able spend the final days of your life peacefully."

It is not the first time Aso, one of Japan's wealthiest politicians, has questioned the state's duty towards its large elderly population. In 2008, while serving as prime minister, he described "doddering" pensioners as tax burdens who should take better care of their health.

"I see people aged 67 or 68 at class reunions who dodder around and are constantly going to the doctor," he said at a meeting of economists. "Why should I have to pay for people who just eat and drink and make no effort? I walk every day and do other things, but I'm paying more in taxes."

http://www.guardian.co.uk

[jameelash]

salam,islam doesn,t allow such death.

[tearose]

Let elderly people 'hurry up and die', says Japanese minister

Some people who are advocates of euthanasia in other countries might now think more carefully about the potential consequences of what they are trying to put into motion, inshaAllah. I feel sorry for those who have to see their loved ones suffering every day but that shouldn't push them to see this as an option.