We’re really not quite sure what to think or say about this one.
A gay man in Belgium says, despite enduring 17 years of therapy and countless medications, he simply cannot accept his sexuality. So he’s pleading with doctors to end his life with euthanasia on the grounds of “extreme psychological suffering.”
39-year-old Sébastien was raised Catholic and has struggled his same-sex attraction since childhood, resulting in him feeling “extremely lonely, extremely withdrawn, very inhibited physically–scared to go out, scared of being seen, all the time scared, hugely shy.”
“Growing up, I met a boy and I fell crazy in love,” he tells the BBC. “We were both 15. And it was just unbearable for me, you know? I didn’t want to be gay.”
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Human euthanasia was first legalized in Belgium in 2002. While the vast majority of cases involve elderly people suffering from terminal illnesses, occasionally it is used for adults battling extreme psychiatric disorders. Sébastien hopes to be one of those cases.
“The moment when they put the drip in my arm–I’m not worried about that,” he says, “For me, it’s just a kind of anaesthesia.”
In Belgium, being euthanized requires more than merely scheduling an appointment with your doctor, however. In psychiatric cases such as Sébastien’s, patients must prove they are legally competent and conscious and that their suffering is “incurable, constant and unbearable” then find three doctors to sign off on the procedure.
Gilles Genicot, lecturer in medical law at the University of Liege and member of the euthanasia review committee, says he is not yet sure if Sébastien’s case fulfills the legal criteria for euthanasia.
“It’s more likely he has psychological problems relating to his sexuality,” he says.
To qualify for euthanasia, he adds, Sébastien still must demonstrate that “every reasonable treatment has been tried unsuccessfully and three doctors come to the conclusion that no other option remains.”
Nevertheless, Sébastien is determined to die.
“I have always thought about death,” he says. “Looking back on my earliest memories, it’s always been in my thoughts. It’s a permanent suffering, like being a prisoner in my own body.”
He continues: “A constant sense of shame, feeling tired, being attracted to people you shouldn’t be attracted to–as though everything were the opposite of what I would have wanted.”
When asked if there is any way he might reconsider he decision, he is unsure.
“If someone could give me some kind of miracle cure, why not?” he says. “But for now, I really don’t believe it any more. And I’m too exhausted also, whatever may be out there.”
Rob Seneca
There is no institution in the history of Western Civilization that has caused more human suffering than the Catholic Church.
rand503
Well, her is a perfect poster child for all the hate groups out there. He can easily find a job with the FRC or the FOTF, or work for Janet Porter and or Linda HateFace.
redcarpet30
Has he even tried to make a new life for himself out of the closet?
Billy Budd
This is sheer madness. The catholic church proves once again to be the root of all evil.
Stache
If you read further you’ll find out he likes em really young. He’s most likely a pedophile too. “He claims to be attracted to young men and adolescent boys”. Good riddance.
Billy Budd
@Stache: Probably because he’s never developed his sexuality and he is still a boy inside, looking for another boy. A big problem indeed.
Hussain-TheCanadian
I really don’t understand why the Catholic church is against Homosexuality; its not like they care whats in the Torah.
Billy Budd
@Hussain-TheCanadian: Self denial and self hatred? Many of them are gay themselves.
Masc Pride
He’s wanted to die and has been preoccupied with death all his life…yet he’s made it to 39? Doesn’t add up. This guy simply wants attention and sympathy, not death.
GC1985
Oh wow. It is joeyty.
flybob
The title of this article is horrible. The man in the article is not struggling with his sexuality. The man is struggling with the bigotry of people who are important to him.
Saying that a GLBT person struggles with her/his own sexuality is like saying gingers struggle with having red hair — it validates perpetuates the bigotry.
onthemark
1) Why didn’t he become a priest? lol.
2) Isn’t suicide still considered a sin in the RCC? Maybe they forgot to explain that part to him. Well, nowadays they get so focused on the grubby details of dirty filthy homo sex sex sex sex sex… damn it’s all they ever think about…
@flybob: Huh?
JessPH
This guy just need more gay sex.
Chris
This is a very slippery slope. Something that is intended to relieve the suffering of people with real physical and incurable illnesses — such as terminal cancer, AIDS when all meds have failed, parkinson’s, and/or alzheimer’s — is in the process of being transformed into something that afflicts people psychologically (his self loathing) and that can be alleviated.
I won’t pretend to understand this guy’s suffering. But as a matter of social policy, his request needs to be turned down — COLD.
DCguy
So he is supposedly strictly Catholic but is seeking to take an active part in committing suicide.
Don’t you love how religious people seem to not care about anything else the Church or Bible says outside of the parts around being gay?
Stache
@DCguy: I didn’t see that. Isn’t is funny how ALL the ex gays and their likes have religion in the mix. You can’t have one without the other.
Sluggo2007
Oh, for Pete’s sake, move to San Francisco already! While you’re there, you can get over yourself!