Disclaimer: Some readers may find the story disturbing. Discretion is advised.

A tragic wish of death by assisted suicide of a young&nbsp;Dutch woman was finally fulfilled at the age of 29 last week.

The doctors terminated the life of 29-year-old Dutch woman Zoraya ter Beek last week after the court gave final approval to her request for euthanasia, which she had filed three years ago.

In the Netherlands, euthanasia is legal if the patient is deemed to&nbsp;be experiencing “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement.”

The doctors diagnosed Ter Beek with autism when she was 21 and by the time she turned 22, the girl started wearing a “Do Not Resuscitate” tag around her neck,&nbsp;as reported by The Free Press.&nbsp;

According to the reports, the girl had been hoping to end her life since she was a child because she&nbsp;faced bullying while she was growing up and she often felt as if she did not fit in.

“For me, autism is the major hiccup in my life,” said Ter Beek, while speaking to the Free Press. “That bothers me the most," she added.

Although the woman was physically healthy, she was struggling with mental illness like anxiety, depression and an unspecified personality disorder, reported The Free Press.

Also Read:<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-woman-blamed-for-baby-falling-from-4th-floor-dies-by-suicide-in-coimbatore-says-police-723486">&nbsp;India: Woman blamed for baby falling from 4th floor, dies by suicide in Coimbatore, says police</a>

The girl used to dress like a goth to ward off bullies in school and appeared scarier. &nbsp;“The whole black look looked right, because that is how I felt on the inside,” Beek said.

The girl was living with her boyfriend Stein - who is an IT programmer and is 10 years older than her in age. Her parents did not approve of their age difference.&nbsp;

The girl had remained estranged for six years from her mother and three older sisters, while her father succumbed to cancer last year.&nbsp;

Ter Beek's boyfriend Stein was worried about her health and had asked her to get treatment. So, she went through various treatments to cure her mental illness.&nbsp;

This included going through 33 rounds of electroconvulsive therapy, in which the woman received electric current&nbsp;jolts to the brain.&nbsp;

However, after her last treatment in August 2020, the woman was informed by her psychiatrist that "there’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never going to get any better.”

“After we heard that, we all kind of knew what that meant,” said Ter Beek, as she became more determined to apply to the Netherlands’&nbsp;Euthanasia Expertise Center in December 2020.&nbsp;

“I was always very clear: if it doesn’t get better, I can’t do this. My whole friends and my support system, we really did it together,” she said, in her interview with The Free Press.&nbsp;

According to&nbsp;reports, Ter Beek saw herself as an ambassador for the Dutch euthanasia programme and said that there is a proper protocol in place for preventing abuse of the system.&nbsp;

“We’ve had this law for more than 20 years. There are really strict rules, and it’s really safe," she said to the outlet.

However, she did not support “suicide kits” which are widely available for those who were not permitted state-sanctioned euthanasia and was not in support of an update to the law which would allow assisted suicide without approval of the state or prior medical intervention.

<h2>Ter Beek's back-up plan</h2>

“I’m pro-death. But we need to be careful to protect people who’re in psychosis or depressed and not thinking straight,” said Ter Beek. “If you go on the suicide kit road, you don’t know if somebody, maybe with the right help, could have chosen to live," she added.

Watch:&nbsp;Gravitas: Mother of baby rescued from Chennai apartment dies by suicide

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-mother-of-baby-rescued-from-chennai-apartment-dies-by-suicide-724040/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

However, the woman had a backup plan in case her application was not approved. Ter Beek said that she had thought about using a suicide kit which she had obtained from&nbsp;Exit International, a group that advocates for the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia.&nbsp;

However, she did not apply her "escape plan" eventually. “Zoraya passed away today at 1:25 p.m. Or as she saw it herself: she went to sleep,” wrote one of her friends&nbsp;on X on May 22.

(With inputs from agencies)

If you or someone you know wants help for mental well being, don't hesitate to talk to a professional. Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, 98204 66726, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata), Parivarthan (Bangalore) +91 76766 02602

WION is not associated with any of these organisations and does not make any recommendations

Disclaimer: Some readers may find the story disturbing. Discretion is advised. A tragic wish of death by assisted suicide of a young Dutch woman was finally fulfilled at the age of 29 last week.

Disclaimer: Some readers may find the story disturbing. Discretion is advised. A tragic wish of death by assisted suicide of a young Dutch woman was finally fulfilled at the age of 29 last week. The doctors terminated the life of 29-year-old Dutch woman Zoraya ter Beek last week after the court gave final approval to her request for euthanasia, which she had filed three years ago. In the Netherlands, euthanasia is legal if the patient is deemed to be experiencing “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement.” The doctors diagnosed Ter Beek with autism when she was 21 and by the time she turned 22, the girl started wearing a “Do Not Resuscitate” tag around her neck, as reported by The Free Press. According to the reports, the girl had been hoping to end her life since she was a child because she faced bullying while she was growing up and she often felt as if she did not fit in. “For me, autism is the major hiccup in my life,” said Ter Beek, while speaking to the Free Press. “That bothers me the most," she added. Although the woman was physically healthy, she was struggling with mental illness like anxiety, depression and an unspecified personality disorder, reported The Free Press. Also Read: India: Woman blamed for baby falling from 4th floor, dies by suicide in Coimbatore, says police The girl used to dress like a goth to ward off bullies in school and appeared scarier. “The whole black look looked right, because that is how I felt on the inside,” Beek said. The girl was living with her boyfriend Stein - who is an IT programmer and is 10 years older than her in age. Her parents did not approve of their age difference. The girl had remained estranged for six years from her mother and three older sisters, while her father succumbed to cancer last year. Ter Beek's boyfriend Stein was worried about her health and had asked her to get treatment. So, she went through various treatments to cure her mental illness. This included going through 33 rounds of electroconvulsive therapy, in which the woman received electric current jolts to the brain. However, after her last treatment in August 2020, the woman was informed by her psychiatrist that "there’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never going to get any better.” “After we heard that, we all kind of knew what that meant,” said Ter Beek, as she became more determined to apply to the Netherlands’ Euthanasia Expertise Center in December 2020. “I was always very clear: if it doesn’t get better, I can’t do this. My whole friends and my support system, we really did it together,” she said, in her interview with The Free Press. According to reports, Ter Beek saw herself as an ambassador for the Dutch euthanasia programme and said that there is a proper protocol in place for preventing abuse of the system. “We’ve had this law for more than 20 years. There are really strict rules, and it’s really safe," she said to the outlet. However, she did not support “suicide kits” which are widely available for those who were not permitted state-sanctioned euthanasia and was not in support of an update to the law which would allow assisted suicide without approval of the state or prior medical intervention. Ter Beek's back-up plan “I’m pro-death. But we need to be careful to protect people who’re in psychosis or depressed and not thinking straight,” said Ter Beek. “If you go on the suicide kit road, you don’t know if somebody, maybe with the right help, could have chosen to live," she added. Watch: Gravitas: Mother of baby rescued from Chennai apartment dies by suicide However, the woman had a backup plan in case her application was not approved. Ter Beek said that she had thought about using a suicide kit which she had obtained from Exit International, a group that advocates for the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia. However, she did not apply her "escape plan" eventually. “Zoraya passed away today at 1:25 p.m. Or as she saw it herself: she went to sleep,” wrote one of her friends on X on May 22. (With inputs from agencies) If you or someone you know wants help for mental well being, don't hesitate to talk to a professional. Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, 98204 66726, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata), Parivarthan (Bangalore) +91 76766 02602 WION is not associated with any of these organisations and does not make any recommendations

Heartbreaking reason a 29-year-old Dutch woman chose assisted suicide

The feeling of getting back a prized possession after several years was quite visible on the face of a 101-year-old Dutch woman. She had got back a painting looted by the Nazis from her father during the second world war. The artwork is the portrait of Steven Wolters, which was created by a Dutch master Caspar Netscher in 1683. Netscher’s several paintings are in the National Gallery in London. The woman, Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck, is a non-practising Baptist. She joined the Dutch resistance during the war and never gave up hope to get this painting back. Now, after six months of getting the painting, she looks to place it up for auction at Sotheby’s in London to ensure her family gets the benefits of the proceeds of the sale. &nbsp;&nbsp;

This much-loved possession of her father Joan Hendrik Smidt van Gelder was firstly placed in her childhood home in Arnhem. Joan was a doctor and director of a children’s hospital in the city. He had gone into hiding on refusing to accept orders from Nazis after Germany’s invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. &nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1%3C/div"></iframe>

After the attack on the Netherlands, Joan stored the artwork in the Amsterdam Bank in Arnhem. From where, it was looted by Nazis. During the chaos of war, the painting disappeared. The London-based Commission for Looted Art in Europe said that in the mid-1950s, it surfaced at a Düsseldorf gallery. Later, in 1969, it was auctioned in Amsterdam and was acquired by a private collector in Germany in 1971. After negotiations with the collector, the painting was returned to Bischoff van Heemskerck in 2021. &nbsp;

On seeing it again, the Dutch woman told the Guardian, “I was amazed.” Now, the painting will get auctioned it on July 6 and may fetch from £30,000 to £50,000. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

&nbsp;

The feeling of getting back a prized possession after several years was quite visible on the face of a 101-year-old Dutch woman. She had got back a painting looted by the Nazis from her father during the second world war.

The feeling of getting back a prized possession after several years was quite visible on the face of a 101-year-old Dutch woman. She had got back a painting looted by the Nazis from her father during the second world war. The artwork is the portrait of Steven Wolters, which was created by a Dutch master Caspar Netscher in 1683. Netscher’s several paintings are in the National Gallery in London. The woman, Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck, is a non-practising Baptist. She joined the Dutch resistance during the war and never gave up hope to get this painting back. Now, after six months of getting the painting, she looks to place it up for auction at Sotheby’s in London to ensure her family gets the benefits of the proceeds of the sale. This much-loved possession of her father Joan Hendrik Smidt van Gelder was firstly placed in her childhood home in Arnhem. Joan was a doctor and director of a children’s hospital in the city. He had gone into hiding on refusing to accept orders from Nazis after Germany’s invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. WATCH WION LIVE HERE After the attack on the Netherlands, Joan stored the artwork in the Amsterdam Bank in Arnhem. From where, it was looted by Nazis. During the chaos of war, the painting disappeared. The London-based Commission for Looted Art in Europe said that in the mid-1950s, it surfaced at a Düsseldorf gallery. Later, in 1969, it was auctioned in Amsterdam and was acquired by a private collector in Germany in 1971. After negotiations with the collector, the painting was returned to Bischoff van Heemskerck in 2021. On seeing it again, the Dutch woman told the Guardian, “I was amazed.” Now, the painting will get auctioned it on July 6 and may fetch from £30,000 to £50,000. (With inputs from agencies) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. ×

Dutch woman, 101, gets back artwork looted by Nazis, places it for auction at Sotheby’s

dutch-woman

Dutch Woman, News on Dutch Woman, stories on Dutch Woman, articles on Dutch Woman, Dutch Woman stories at Wion, Dutch Woman news, Dutch Woman latest news

dutch woman

Heartbreaking reason a 29-year-old Dutch woman chose assisted suicide

Dutch woman, 101, gets back artwork looted by Nazis, places it for auction at Sotheby’s