In the Netherlands, a teenager euthanized following rape during her childhood

A Dutch teenager who was raped as a child has been allowed to die after battling for years with depression and anorexia after being raped as a young child.

Noa Pothoven, from Arnhem in the Netherlands, opened up about her choice to end her life in a now-private Instagram post last week, saying the trauma she struggled to live with following rape in his childhood had become unbearable.

She died in a hospital bed at the family home this weekend.

“After years of fighting and battles, I am exhausted,” she wrote.

“I have stopped eating and drinking for a while now, and after much discussion and evaluation it was decided to let me go as my suffering is unbearable.”

The teenager, who released an autobiography in 2018 called Earn or Learn detailing her struggles with PTSD, depression, anorexia and self-harm, also asked her followers not to try to talk her out of her decision, adding that she was “final” and “not impulsive”.

“Love is letting go, in this case,” she finished her message.

Noa's sister Isa Pothoven took to Instagram after the teenager's assisted suicide on Sunday to share a moving tribute, remembering her loved one as a “sweet, beautiful, caring person.”

“Sleep well darling, we will miss you,” she wrote in a now-deleted post.

“Close your eyes and think about what a beautiful place you'll be going. We'll have to let you go.”

According to local reports, Pothoven began starving earlier this month and her parents and doctors decided not to force-feed her at her request.

According to Gelderland, a local media outlet in the Netherlands, Pothoven approached a euthanasia clinic in Levenseind ​​without her parents' knowledge last year. She was told she could not continue with the procedure.

She also had electroshock therapy, which was refused.

Dutch law allows euthanasia provided it is carried out in accordance with the strict terms of the controversial “Life on Demand and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures)” law, which came into force in 2002.

In the Netherlands, children as young as 12 can request euthanasia, although patients under 16 need parental consent to do so.

In 2017, the country recorded 6,585 deaths from legal euthanasia.

Samaritans offers a 24-hour crisis line on 116 123 in the UK and Ireland (this number is FREE and will not appear on your phone bill).

You can call Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm, on 0300 123 3393.

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