She was 18 years old and had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, an eating disorder, and autism. Despite years of treatment, she was still bedeviled by negative thoughts, and she told Oosterhoff, a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry in the Netherlands, that she couldn't stand any more suffering. He suggested deep brain stimulation, an invasive procedure sometimes used to treat severe OCD. She insisted that she wanted help dying instead. Dutch law gave Oosterhoff the power to grant her request. In 2002, the Netherlands began allowing doctors to administer death to patients who make 'voluntary and well considered' pleas to end 'unbearable' suffering from any medical condition'provided there is no 'prospect of improvement' and no 'reasonable alternative' to dying. Eighteen-year-olds are adults and can request euthanasia even over family objections. Children as young as 12 are also eligible, with parental consent; for 16- and 17-year-olds, only parental...
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