Seconds before a young Dutch woman was about to voluntarily end her own life, she changed her mind.
Romy, 22, who suffered from clinical depression, eating disorders, and anorexia due to childhood abuse, made the heartbreaking decision to end her life in accordance with legislation in the Netherlands, which allows for euthanasia under certain circumstances.
She decided not to go ahead with it at the very last moment.
After turning 18, Romy campaigned for four years for her right to die via voluntary assisted dying (VAD) to doctors, officials, and her family.
But in 2023, when she found herself lying in a hospital bed in the Dutch city of Leiden, she had a sudden change of heart.
Earlier that day, she had seen the coffin in which she would be taken to the mortuary.
Her mother was by her side, and her brother was waiting in the hospital garden for it to be over.
Final question she was asked by the doctor
The doctor stood over her and explained one last time the step-by-step process of what she was going to do as part of the lethal injection process under her country’s euthanasia laws.
Romy gave the doctor the green light, but she was sweating and her heart was pounding as she considered the finality of what was about to happen, she says.
As the doctor stepped up to administer the lethal injection, she was asked one final question to comply with Dutch law – “Are you sure?”
Romy, whose surname has been withheld, was not sure.
She started to cry and so did her mother, and she decided to call it all off.
‘I don’t regret the journey’: Romy’s life now
After initially backing out of her euthanasia, Romy requested to end her life once again and was scheduled to receive a lethal injection at a later date.
However, with the persistent support of her psychiatrist, family and friends, she decided to continue with her trauma therapy and now expresses that she wants “nothing more than to live.”
“I don’t regret the journey. Because I’ve been so close to death, I see life as something valuable. It won’t always go well, but I now know there is light at the end of the tunnel,” she told Dutch outlet NRC.
Today, Romy is studying for a diploma in adult education and lives in communal assisted living.
When the publication asked what gives her hope, she laughed, “This is going to sound crazy: I genuinely enjoyed paying rent. It gives my life meaning.”
Euthanasia accounts for five percent of deaths in the Netherlands
Twenty-three years ago, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to decriminalize active euthanasia and assisted suicide with the support of a doctor.
Euthanasia is conducted on a voluntary basis for patients who “earnestly and will full conviction” demonstrate that they are experiencing unbearable suffering without any possibility of improvement.
Last year, 9068 people in the Netherlands died by euthanasia, an increase from 8720 in 2022, accounting for more than five percent of all deaths in the country.
Almost all euthanasia cases involve a lethal injection administered by a doctor.
Is VAD legal in Australia?
VAD is legal across all Australian states except the Northern Territory and will be available in the ACT from November 3, 2025.
While the laws in each state differ slightly, the do share similarities.
A person is eligible if they; are 18 or over, are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, have decision-making capacity for VAD, are acting voluntarily and without coercion, have an enduring request for VAD, have a disease, illness or medical condition that is advanced and will cause death or is incurable (time frames vary between states) and are enduring suffering that cannot be relieved in a way the person finds tolerable.
A person is not eligible for VAD solely based on having a disability or mental illness – they must meet all other criteria to access VAD.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
