Dutch man chooses to get euthanised due to his alcohol addiction

[prwraith]

21 stints in rehab. If you can't quit something like alcohol you're about the most mentally weak fucker I know.

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I believe in Jesus Christ because that is what Jesus wanted you to do. Believe in Him

Oh come on. It's like 2016 and people still believe in imaginary friends as adults. ffs/

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become Muslim even . Most do not drink Alcohol.

I can't get over how utterly oblivious this is. Become muslim the cure for alcoholism. Are you Amy schumer?

[Deleted]

The man was in pain, and he made a choice

Yes, it has consequences for his family and children, but forcing people to live when they clearly don't want to live any more might be more inhumane - after all, isn't that a kind of slavery?

[Deleted]

This is but one of the reasons that I disagree with Euthanasia

Yes there are people suffering as a result of Pain or Disease, but I think that killing yourself legally
because you have an Alcohol addiction shows why legalizing Euthanasia is bad.

My other concern is that your grandchildren may want your house and fortune and decide to put you down legally.

One day you will be Old too , would you consider Euthanasia for an addiction or when would you consider it ?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/...ohol-addiction

A man in the Netherlands has been allowed to die because he could no longer carry on living as an alcoholic.

Mark Langedijk, a father of two, chose to die on July 14 at his parent's home by lethal injection administered by a doctor, The Independent reported.

An account of the ordeal written by his journalist brother said he was laughing, drinking beer and ham sandwiches with his family hours before dying.

People in the Netherlands who are in "unbearable suffering" with no prospect of improvement can choose to die under euthanasia legislation introduced in 2000.

Marcel Langedijk said his brother, who came from a happy home, found out he had an addiction eight years ago.

"I was particularly angry at Mark," he said. "At first we did what most people do; help. My parents especially have done everything humanly possible to save Mark."

Eventually, Mark told his family he wanted to die after eight years of help and 21 stints in rehab, Marcel wrote in the magazine Linda.

A doctor from the Support and Consultation on Euthanasia in the Netherlands approved his application for euthanasia.

On the day of his death, he "laughed, drank, smoked, ate ham and cheese sandwiches and soup with meatballs".


His doctor arrived at his parents' home at 3.15pm and explained the procedure, telling him to get into bed and to stay calm, Marcel wrote.

The family began crying "my parents, everyone actually, even Mark".

"We cried, told each other that we loved each other, that it would be all right, that we would care for each other, that we would see each other again, we held each other," he said.

Mark died after the doctor administered the third syringe, said Marcel.

"His face changed, lost color. My little brother was dead."

Last year, more than 5,500 people chose to end their life under Holland's euthanasia laws.

In an interview with The Independent, Marcel defended his brother's decision.

"My brother suffered from depression and anxiety and tried to 'cure' it with alcohol. He's from a normal family, he did not want this to happen. He did not take an easy way out," he told the paper.

Have a look at the documentary "Choosing to die" with Terry Pratchett, a man who last year died in Alzheimers.
But I warn you, the last 15 minutes are very, very heavy and not for the feint of heart, as they film a man going through his assisted suicide.

Assisted suicide requires a tremendous amount of steps.

[Mormolyce]

"This is bad, ergo it should be illegal".

Non sequitur.

Yes there are people suffering as a result of Pain or Disease, but I think that killing yourself legally
because you have an Alcohol addiction shows why legalizing Euthanasia is bad.

Okay. So you want to criminalise euthanasia. How would you like to punish people seeking to be euthanised? Throw them in jail? Crippling fines?

How about the death penalty?

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I believe in Jesus Christ because that is what Jesus wanted you to do. Believe in Him

Either you are trolling, or you aren't actually Australian, or you're the last conservative Christian left in Australia.

Oh wait, you're from Darwin. Never mind.

[Deleted]

People can kill themselves at any time. Jump off a building, in front of a train, whatever. At least when they go through official channels you can be sure every other option is exhausted and it's done in a humane manner that ensures friends and relatives are cared for and other people aren't burdened.

[TwoNineMarine]

Meh.

His life, his decision.

It sucks he couldn't battle against his alcoholism. But perhaps he had been trying for a long time and we just aren't aware of it. You never really know someone else's struggles unless you have been in their shoes.

And frankly going out like this is better than him jumping from a bridge or something. It's a messy affair to clean up when that happens.

[Underverse]

Alcoholism? It seems like too minor an affliction to end it all.

This is my feeling too. I think there are certainly cases where euthanasia is warranted but I'm not convinced this is one of them.

[Daefish]

The fact he was a father of 2 worries me. How old are his kids? That is a bad memory to saddle them with

Well, if he was an abusive drunk maybe they were happy to be rid of him. Who knows, we aren't the family and we aren't privy to all the goings on of this family and its dynamics.

[Underverse]

Meh.

His life, his decision.

It sucks he couldn't battle against his alcoholism. But perhaps he had been trying for a long time and we just aren't aware of it. You never really know someone else's struggles unless you have been in their shoes.

And frankly going out like this is better than him jumping from a bridge or something. It's a messy affair to clean up when that happens.

Maybe. If this is the case, then it's more justified. But we don't know.

I think it's naive to dismiss these kinds of decisions as personal choices in which others should not interfere. If my depressed son or daughter tried to kill themselves because they were having a bad day, I would not back down and say "your life, your choice". As humans that are part of an interconnected society, we have a moral obligation to help each other - not to pretend that we live in a vacuum in which our actions do not affect the lives of others.

[TwoNineMarine]

Maybe. If this is the case, then it's more justified. But we don't know.

I think it's naive to dismiss these kinds of decisions as personal choices in which others should not interfere. If my depressed son or daughter tried to kill themselves because they were having a bad day, I would not back down and say "your life, your choice". As humans that are part of an interconnected society, we have a moral obligation to help each other

And I agree you should try and help people if you are able to catch them before they do anything crazy.

But it sounds like the whole family was aware. I mean they were there with him for his death.

My take away from all of this is that they did try to help him (what family wouldn't?) but realized that he was deadly serious about it and had made his decision. There are some people that just don't want to live any more. And while that's an incredibly foreign thought for most of us I think as long as they've talked out every option and possibility and still come to that conclusion then they should be allowed to kill themselves. I may not like it but it's their choice.

And frankly going out like that has to be a lot easier on the family knowing they tried to help and that he went painlessly versus the guy shooting himself or driving off a cliff or what have you.

[Zindai]

I'd say it's clear how many people here haven't struggled with mental problems or the following addiction. In the case of alcohol, I've never met anyone who had a drinking problem because of physical addiction - it was always depression and/or anxiety. And if you feel like that sober, then it's not going to stop just because you quit drinking.

I fully support his decision to die. There's a big difference between here-and-now "why can't I just be dead?" and actually starting to plan your departure - you can think the first and not want to do the latter, all in the same moment. As long as it's thought through and other options have been tried, I don't see why not. Hell, it might even encourage people to seek help because they will need to exhaust their options in order to convince the system that there's no hope for a brighter future.

[dextersmith]

Why didn't he drink himself to death?

Do teens or fat people apply for this after their first break up?

[Deleted]

And his fucking family let him????? What the hell....

[Tyrianth]

My guess is alcohol was involved.

Sometimes you see an alchy dry up for mysterious reasons. If I were him I would've waited.

I'm not against euthanasia, if I become demented or come down with Alzheimer's in my old age I'll seek it out. I don't like the thought of watching myself become erased and becoming a burden to others.

Alcoholism? It seems like too minor an affliction to end it all.

Alcoholism can be very severe actually, alcohol withdrawal can lead to extremely high fevers, seizures, and hallucinations. There have been a number of cases of people dying from alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol withdrawal is one of the most dangerous drug withdrawals.

Assuming this guy was in a proper state of mind, and was deemed so by a physician then I so no issue with this. I'm glad, for him and his family, he had it as an option, there are still lots of places were people don't get that liberty in the world.

[Deleted]

If he wanted an out and it could be provided who the fuck cares if you think its bad or not. You aren't the person that wanted it.

And you think an alcoholic should get to decide whether he lives or dies because he "wanted It"? You do realise not all people have the mental clarity to make such decisions and safeguards should be put into place to protect them from themselves.

But of course, I can't expect people on this forum to sympathise, after all, if you're not excessively liberal then you don't have a say in how society should function.

[micwini]

Why is it bad? Why do you care? It's his life.
He could have hung himself or any other way to end his life. Making euthanasia legal just prevents the gross shit people can possibly encounter.

[JohnBrown1917]

Better than letting a person do it himself, I support my countries new law on this.

[Heladys]

If he wanted an out and it could be provided who the fuck cares if you think its bad or not. You aren't the person that wanted it.

100% exactly. OP's opinion is utterly irrelevant. The guy wanted it, and it was his life.

[Jimson]

My guess is alcohol was involved.

Sometimes you see an alchy dry up for mysterious reasons. If I were him I would've waited.

I'm not against euthanasia, if I become demented or come down with Alzheimer's in my old age I'll seek it out. I don't like the thought of watching myself become erased and becoming a burden to others.

Alcoholism? It seems like too minor an affliction to end it all.

This is my feeling too. I think there are certainly cases where euthanasia is warranted but I'm not convinced this is one of them.

I'm guessing neither you nor no one you know is a true alcoholic. I don't mean to make light of what you said, but it's an incredibly debilitating disease and it affects more than just the person struck with it. If he's been to rehab 21 times and it hasn't worked, it's also likely more than just alcoholism that he's dealing with, but that's another story. Spoken as someone who is currently in treatment for their own alcohol/mental issues.

Alcoholism can be very severe actually, alcohol withdrawal can lead to extremely high fevers, seizures, and hallucinations. There have been a number of cases of people dying from alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol withdrawal is one of the most dangerous drug withdrawals.

Assuming this guy was in a proper state of mind, and was deemed so by a physician then I so no issue with this. I'm glad, for him and his family, he had it as an option, there are still lots of places were people don't get that liberty in the world.

Well said.

[Youn]

Look at it this way,

The guy could have easily walked out onto his lawn and stabbed himself in the neck with a knife. Your not going to stop someone that really wants to die. His method of death was clean and controlled.

Note: I choose specifically not to involve a firearm in my example because people claim banning them will stop death. We could ban sharp objects but cooking may be very interesting without any knives.