Dutch woman suffering from crippling depression decides to be euthanised: 'I’m a little afraid of dying'

A doctor will first give her a sedative and then a drug that will stop her heart. (Representational image: Unsplash)

A 28-year-old Dutch woman has decided to be euthanised after struggling with crippling depression, autism and borderline personality disorder, for years, the New York Post reported. Zoraya ter Beek, was otherwise declared physically fit.

Euthanasia or assisted suicide is legal in the Netherlands, and Ter Beek lives near the country's German border with her 40-year-old boyfriend and two cats. She is scheduled to be euthanised in May.

Ter Beek, who once aspired to be a psychiatrist, told the media that she has been dealing with mental health struggles throughout her life and that she decided to end her life when her doctors told her, “There’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never gonna get any better".

The 28-year-old has also planned her death. She will be euthanised on her couch in the living room, and since she does not have much family she will be surrounded by her boyfriend and the cats. A doctor will first give her a sedative and then a drug that will stop her heart. Ter Beek has also planned a cremation and has instructed that there be no music.

There will also not be a funeral but her boyfriend will scatter her ashes in “a nice spot in the woods” that they have picked out.

“I’m a little afraid of dying, because it’s the ultimate unknown,” she said. “We don’t really know what’s next -- or is there nothing? That’s the scary part.”

In 2001, The Netherlands became the first country in the world to make assisted suicide legal.