Belgium legalized euthanasia in 2002, where today, today chances are three in four that a patient's request to be euthanized will be granted.
This high statistic is good news for a Belgian man, known as Sebastien, who wants to die because he is unable to accept his sexuality.
Daily Mail reported:
The 39-year-old claims he is enduring extreme psychological suffering and that his sexuality has made him 'a prisoner in my own body.'
The news outlet also reports that Sebastien is attracted to young men and adolescent boys.
In an interview with BBC, Sebastien shared his emotional battle with his homosexuality.
"...I was extremely lonely, extremely withdrawn, very inhibited physically - scared to go out, scared of being seen... hugely shy.... I didn't want to be gay."
He stated that he "always thought about death" and that he feels a "constant sense of shame" because he's "attracted to people [he] shouldn't be attracted to."
Sebastien has reportedly has undergone 17 years of therapy, counseling and medication.
BBC reported:
But there is debate among the medical profession about whether it [euthanasia] should be an option for people who are mentally ill.
Psychiatrist Caroline Depuydt, who works at the Clinique Fond'roy psychiatric hospital in Brussels, prefers to encourage patients to seek further treatment.
"We always have something that could work. Time, medication, psychotherapy - something that we must try and keep going with that. And the psychiatrist must give hope to the patient that it's never finished," she says.
Sebastien is currently undergoing medical assessments in order for doctors to determine if his request falls within the country's euthanasia laws, in which he only needs three physicians to approve his death by lethal injection.
Over the last few years, the number of those who have died from voluntary lethal injection has slowly increased, from 953 in 2010 to more than 2,000 last year. This comes as no surprise considering Belgium's law is quite vague, and pretty much anyone who demonstrates "constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering" can qualify.
As the American Medical Association puts it:
It is understandable, though tragic, that some patients in extreme duress--such as those suffering from a terminal, painful, debilitating illness--may come to decide that death is preferable to life. However, allowing physicians to participate in assisted suicide would cause more harm than good. Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.