Deaf Belgian Twins Euthanized

     The article, "Marc and Eddy Verbessem, Deaf Belgian Twins, Euthanized After Starting to Turn Blind," was written by Eline Gordts on January 14, 2013 in The Huffington Post. Assisted suicide is one of the most controversial topics worldwide. Last month, the first reported double euthanasia of twins worldwide occurred. Marc and Eddy Verbessem, 45, were born deaf and were slowly becoming blind. Fearing they might lose communication with each other, they decided to end their lives together. Belgium is one of the three countries, besides the Netherlands and Switzerland, that allows euthanasia for non-terminally ill patients. They permit euthanasia when a patient requests for it, and the doctor agrees that the patient is in an unbearable physical or psychological pain. Although the law permits it, euthanasia is a highly controversial topic, which was the probable cause as to why the first hospital the twins visited denied their request. It was reported that the twins were happy on the day of their deaths, and were cremated and buried together in identical urns. Judge Nicholas Kearns says, "It would be impossible to ensure the aged, disabled, poor, unwanted, rejected, etc. would not avail of this option to avoid a sense being a burden on their families and society."