A Belgian man has chosen to end his life after several failed gender reassignment surgeries, saying in a newspaper interview prior to his death that "i was the girl no one wanted."
Nathan Verhelst, 44, was born female and grew up feeling like he was a boy trapped in a girl's body. He also grew up in an unloving family, he said in a interview.
Verhelst started his hormaone therapy in 2009 and began undergoing many reassignment surgeries back in 2012.
He had told the media that the ensuing sureries left him feeling monstrous.
"I was ready to celebrate my new birth. But when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted with myself," he said, "My new breasts did not match my expectations and my penis had symptoms of rejection."
He said he had applied to be euthanized several months ago, and has since died on Monday.
Nathan Verhelst's request for euthanasia is based off of a 2002 Belgian law that makes the country one of only three countries in the whole world that legalized euthanasia. The other two are Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The Belgian Evaluation Commission for Euthanasia has said that in their most recent report that at least 2,000 Belgian citizens had applied for euthanasia, making it account to 1% of the country's deaths.
Evelien Debke, professor at the University of Antwerp, said that those who are approved for euthanasia meet very strict requirements and have undergone a rigorous screening process.
"It's not like people in Belgium can just be killed without protection. Our legislation is pretty strict," she said, "A strict set of conditions needs to be met and several doctors are involved in each case."
To file a request, the applicant must have to be of age, of mental competence, and suffering from an "incurable condition that causes continuous and unbearable suffering." One would think that all suffering is physical, but psychological suffering applies as well. Applicants go through many, many consultations with a number of doctors to make sure that the decision is not one made on impluse.
Euthanasis consists of having doctors inject a lethal chemical into a patient via IV. Consciousness is lost withing two seconds, then the patient drifts into a coma and expires quietly within a few minutes.
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