The story is wrong. On several levels.
The facts are that this young woman, Noa Pothoven, died at her own family home from extreme anorexia brought on by self-inflicted malnutrition in a failed suicide attempt.
She tried to starve herself to death back in 2018 out of the control of her family, but she was rescued at very near the point of death after shed done unrecoverable damage to her vital organs. Doctors had actually been trying to save her life against her will, force-feeding her and using medical systems to supplant her non-functioning organs. All they managed to accomplish was restoring some of her weight.
She wasnt euthanized by assisted suicide under the 2001 Dutch euthanasia law, or inside any kind of facility for this purpose as was initially reported and later wildly embellished as the story went round the world.
I do not let the parents off the hook here. Naomi OLeary of Politico Europe, reported that Pothovens parents and doctors agreed not to force feed her when she refused to eat or drink. So, tubes removed.
The girl was seriously mentally ill and yet in the end, the parents allowed her to refuse both assisted nutrition and electro-convulsive. Bear in mind that ECT is NOT the horror from the 1950's which some imagine, but an often successful treatment for severe depression.
The parents' statement:
What Is Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)?
ECT is among the safest and most effective treatments available for depression.
With ECT, electrodes are placed on the patient's scalp and a finely controlled electric current is applied while the patient is under general anesthesia. The current causes a brief seizure in the brain.
ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms in severely depressed or suicidal patients. It's also very effective for patients who suffer from mania or a number of other mental illnesses.
ECT is generally used when severe depression is unresponsive to other forms of therapy. Or it might be used when patients pose a severe threat to themselves or others and it is too dangerous to wait until medications take effect.
Although ECT has been used since the 1940s and 1950s, it remains misunderstood by the general public.
Many of the procedure's risks and side effects are related to the misuse of equipment, incorrect administration, or improperly trained staff. It is also a misconception that ECT is used as a "quick fix" in place of long-term therapy or hospitalization. Nor is it correct to believe that the patient is painfully "shocked" out of the depression. Unfavorable news reports and media coverage have contributed to the controversy surrounding this treatment.