Doctors might help this man kill himself because he can’t accept that he is gay
A gay man has asked doctors to help him take his own life because he cannot accept that he is gay.
The man, from Belgium, is the subject of a BBC report which says that his request for euthanasia had been accepted “initially”.
Only identified as Sebastien, the 39-year-old faces further legal tests to see whether taking his own life is legal.
Having grown up in a Catholic family, Sebastien lived with his mother who suffered from dementia.
At 15, he realised he is gay, and has been subjected to 17 years of attempts to ‘treat’ or ‘cure’ his sexual orientation.
According to the BBC: “Sébastien’s request for euthanasia has been accepted initially.”
He told the BBC: “The moment when they put the drip in my arm – I’m not worried about that… For me, it’s just a kind of anaesthesia.”
“My whole life has led me to this, really,” he adds. “My mother had dementia, so I wasn’t right, mentally.
“All that was instilled in me, so I was extremely lonely, extremely withdrawn, very inhibited physically – scared to go out, scared of being seen, all the time scared, hugely shy.
“And growing up, I met a boy and I fell crazy in love. We were both 15. And it was just unbearable for me, you know? I didn’t want to be gay.”
In order to have his request granted, the man must prove that he has “constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering”.
Belgium’s euthanasia law requires two doctors to sign off that a patient can take their own life.
In cases where there is a psychiatric concern, three doctors must sign off, and those requesting euthanasia must be legally competent and conscious.
Their request must be voluntary.
The BBC notes that there were 1,807 cases of euthanasia in 2013.
