Frank Van Den Bleeken is the first prisoner ever to be granted euthanasia under Belgian law this past week. Euthanasia was implemented into Belgian law for the terminally ill in 2002, but curiously Belgium, as well as the entire European Union, does not have the death penalty. Van Den Bleeken, who was convicted of rape and murder nearly 30 years ago, requested euthanasia because of an apparent lack of psychological counseling, as reported by NPR.
Instead of making treatment a top priority, Belgium is showing a horrible example by allowing a prisoner to be euthanized. For the terminally ill, euthanasia can be a humane way to allow a person or prisoner’s suffering to end, however, when it comes to mental illness there is not enough effort put into finding out which treatment options work. Psychiatrists rely too heavily on medicating mentally ill individuals and not enough time on cognitive behavioral therapy.
Van Den Bleeken, who recognizes his condition as a mental illness, is“suffering unbearably,” according to his lawyer Jos Vander Velpen. Vander Velpen went on to explain that Van Den Bleeken “has clearly said that he didn’t want to leave prison because he didn’t want to risk creating further victims.” His condition has been deemed “incurable,” according to prison psychologists. It was this news that convinced the Justice Ministry to approve Van Den Bleeken’s request for euthanasia, as BBC News states in an earlier article, after having been denied initially in 2011 on the grounds of exhausting every other treatment option first.
Euthanasia is widely accepted in Belgium as a form of relief for the terminally ill. Van Den Bleeken’s verdict has caused great debate over whether mental illness should be considered. The president of Belgium’s Right to Die Association, Jacqueline Herremans, gave her thoughts on the situation, saying “The position that we have regarding a patient, detained or not, with a cancer is totally different from the position we have regarding what we can’t see, meaning a psychiatric disorder.” She goes on to point out that “as a human” he has “the right to demand euthanasia.”
Many, including family members of Van Den Bleeken’s victims, are distraught by his request for euthanasia being accepted. Two sisters of one of Van Den Bleeken’s victims, requesting to only be referred to as Annie and Liliane, were quoted by the Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad saying “All those commissions, doctors and experts concerned about the wellbeing of the murderer of our sister. Nobody has ever shown us that much attention.” This criticism has also been made of media outlets in the past. There is not enough support for the victims of violent crimes in the media, just as there is not enough support for the mentally ill. The fixation is instead on mass-murderers and the ratings their stories create.
Many mass killers misrepresent mental illness, which creates stigma. Many believe that the mentally ill are predominantly perpetrators of violent crimes, however, studies show that the mentally ill are more likely to be the victims of violent crime, according to The American Journal of Public Health. This stigma about mental illness creates violence and prevents the ill from seeking treatment. There needs to be a greater emphasis on informing the public on what mental illness is, instead of carelessly writing off a murderer’s actions as being out of his control.
It has been made abundantly clear that in Belgium, as well as other countries including the United States, there is not enough regard for the treatment of mental illness. There were 4.9 million adults in the United States with mental illness who were unable to seek treatment, according to 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings. 50 percent said that they “could not afford therapy” while 16.2 percent said they “could not find therapy.” It is terrible to think that the only solution to mental illness is euthanasia, and by granting Van Den Bleeken the right to assisted suicide, that may be the message Belgium is sending. In Belgium’s attempt to be humane, they may have inadvertently created a situation in which euthanasia is the precedent over treatment. Carine Brochier of the Institute of Bioethics in Brussels strongly opposes euthanasia, said “this is a great failure of psychiatric care and the prison system in Belgium altogether.”
If the granted euthanization of Van Den Bleeken has taught us anything, it should be that mental health care should be a bigger priority, not only in Belgium, but here in the United States as well. Media outlets need to take more responsibility for how they report mental health issues. Instead of spreading misinformation and creating a stigma, media outlets need to contribute to the support of mental health by educating the public on mental illness. People need to know that their situations are not hopeless, euthanasia for the mentally ill will only accomplish greater strife for our society.
Samantha Allen can be reached at samantha.allen@spartans.ut.edu