“I have lived my life, I don’t want any more pain,” said Jan Faber before his death

A couple from the Netherlands have decided to end their lives together through euthanasia.

After meeting in kindergarten, 70-year-old Jan Faber and his 71-year-old wife Els van Leeningen from Friesland enjoyed a lifelong partnership. The couple were married for almost five decades. Jan worked as a sports coach, while Els was a primary school teacher.

However, Jan struggled with back pain for years and even after an operation in 2003 there was no improvement. His chronic pain eventually left him unable to work and he often talked about euthanasia and told his family that he did not want to live with his physical limitations.

In November 2022, Els was diagnosed with dementia. “This is very good,” she told the BBC, pointing to her body. “But this is terrible,” she added, pointing to her head. As both of their conditions worsened, Jan’s discussion of euthanasia became more and more realistic. The couple eventually decided on duo euthanasia – to end their lives together.

In the Netherlands, the procedure became legal when the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedure) Act was passed in April 2001, which came into force in April 2002. With its passage, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia. The country’s official government website states that the procedure is carried out by a doctor who administers a lethal dose of an appropriate medication to the patient “at his or her express request.”

“Requests for euthanasia often come from patients who are experiencing unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement,” the website states. “Their request must be made sincerely and with full conviction. They see euthanasia as the only way out of the situation. However, patients do not have an absolute right to euthanasia and doctors do not have an absolute duty to carry it out.”

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The couple made the decision before Els’ dementia worsened and she was no longer able to make the decision on her own.

“If you take a lot of medication, you live like a zombie,” Jan explained. “Given my pain and Els’ illness, I think we need to stop.”

When he said “stop it,” he told the outlet he meant to stop living. “I’ve lived my life, I don’t want no more pain,” he continued. “The life we’ve lived, we’re getting old. We think it needs to end.”

“There is no other solution,” said Els.

Her son, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC it was a “strange day” to lose both parents.

“I remember we were eating dinner that night and tears came to my eyes as I watched us all having that last dinner together,” he told the outlet. “The last half hour was difficult. The doctors came and everything happened quickly – they followed their routine and then it’s just a matter of minutes.”

On June 3, doctors administered the lethal drug to Jan and Els and the couple died together in a local hospice.

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