Transsexual euthanised after sex-change operation *Trigger Warning*

[Amelia Pond]

*TRIGGER WARNING*
Transsexual euthanised after sex-change operation
October 2, 2013, 8:11 am

A Belgian transsexual has died by lethal injection administered by a doctor after a sex-change operation left him "disgusted" with himself.

Nathan Verhelst, 44, died after choosing euthanasia on the grounds of "unbearable psychological suffering", Britain's Daily Mail reports.

Mr Verhelst's lethal injection was administered by a doctor who last year also ended the lives of congenitally deaf twins who were also going blind.

Mr Verhelst was born a girl, Nancy, but began hormone therapy in 2009 to become a man.

The hormone therapy was followed by surgery, to remove his breasts and construct a penis.

[Beth Andrea]

He must've been in a lot of pain....RIP, Mr. Verhelst.

[NathanielM]

Can I reply to this? If not just remove it.
But I'm in Belgium and I have a fuller story and this has just been misrepresented in this article. This person had probably been emotionally abused by his mother all his life. She stated that she found him/her the ugliest thing when he/she was born and never wanted a girl. His brothers were given all the love and attention where he was treated without it. So this isn't just about the sexchange failing, it's about a long standing psychological trauma. Now this is probably even more nuanced then the info we got in Belgium too but at least it's not completely misrepresented.

[Beth Andrea]

Considering the probable abuse history, it's possible the TS path was an effort to placate (and win the love of) the mother...but when that was not forthcoming... 

Tragic, on many, many levels.

[Ltl89]

It's very possible that there is more to the story, but I think the point remains that surgery isn't for everyone.  If anything, surgery on one's genitalia can be a very difficult thing to endure both physically and mentally.  I've been through it (for somewhat different reasons) and can't say it was easy on either level.  That's why people should think long and hard before they decide to make permanent changes.  Even though there are some of us who really want SRS (myself included), it's not the right path for others.

Having said all that, I'm sorry this happened to him.  I hope he found some sense of peace.

[NathanielM]

hmm, it is complicated. Another thing I'd like to point out  is that the procedure in Belgium is filled with quite a bit of gatekeeping. You're not getting topsurgery and srs if you haven't been on hormones for a while. You're not getting on hormones if you haven't been in therapy for a while. I'm looking at at least a year of therapy before even starting hormones if that gives you an idea of the timeline. It's all very much centred in one place (one hospital) and goes pretty slow, so if he got up to phallo he should be at it for quite a while. It sounds like a very complicated story for me, because it also incorperates the rules around euthanasia which are also more complicated then they seem to be portrayed (as far as I know the decision can't be made by just one doctor and there are lost of requirements to fill). I just feel sad that mr Verhelst felt so hopeless it came to this. R.I.P.

[retransition]

As someone who has considered suicide many times but come back to enjoy another day I always hate to see someone throwing in the towel.  This is a very sad story.  I blogged about it last night if anyone is curious.  Even though this person did not wish to detransition (as far as I know) I still can relate to a lot of this with my own experience detransitioning.
http://retransition.org/2013/10/resources-detransitioners-jesus-christ-euthanasia

[Dahlia]

I have a MTF deep regretter friend who suffers psychological terrible  deeply and wants euthanasia .....but doesn't get it (in Holland that is)

The evaluations  of his first psychiatrist describe  clearly 'no trannssexuality, but  aversion to his(her) manhood'
The second psychiatrist of course read that but still gave (nowadays) him permission for having SRS because he insisted on having that, for obviously the wrong reasons.

Very, very sad case....he detransioned, more or less successfully because he makes a good looking man but that's not enough.
He's very aware he's actually  a man and misses his male parts desperately....not for sex but as an integrated bodypart.


He sounded like a wounded animal the last time I spoke to him on the phone....terrible, terrible,  but the worst thing is he insisted on  having SRS....back then...

There's no way to help him or to comfort him...alas

[Red Leicester]

I am not sure I see anything good about euthanasia.  I found this report.  Six months of "death counseling."
http://www.news.com.au/world-news/nathan-verhelst-euthanised-in-belgium-after-botched-sex-change/story-fndir2ev-1226731222463

"I was the girl that nobody wanted," he said in the hours before her death. "While my brothers were celebrated, I got a storage room above the garage as a bedroom. 'If only you had been a boy', my mother complained. I was tolerated, nothing more."

"I was ready to celebrate my new birth," he told the newspaper. "But when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted with myself. My new breasts did not match my expectations and my new penis had symptoms of rejection. I do not want to be... a monster."

"The choice of Nathan Verhelst has nothing to do with fatigue of life," said Dr Distelmans. "There are other factors that meant he was in a situation with incurable, unbearable suffering. Unbearable suffering for euthanasia can be both physical and psychological. This was a case that clearly met the conditions demanded by the law. Nathan underwent counselling for six months."