A Dutch teenager who suffered from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anorexia after being raped as a child was allowed to die at her home, her sister confirmed on Sunday.
The first two incidents were molestations when she attended children’s parties aged 11 and 12 before she was raped by two men when she was 14 in the Elderveld neighborhood of the city.
The Vatican mourned her passing Wednesday morning on Twitter.
“Noa’s death is a great loss for any civil society and for humanity,” Pontifical Academy for Life wrote. “We must always assert the positive reasons for life.”
Pope Francis added:
Assisted suicide is legal in parts of Europe and the United States, though rules differ about the degree to which a third party may actively carry out the patient’s death. Active euthanasia, as it is known, is lawful in only a handful of countries, including Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Dutch minister Lisa Westerveld, who first made contact with Noa in December after her newspaper interview, visited the 17-year-old before she was euthanised.
She said: “It was nice to see her again. It is also very unreal. Noa was incredibly strong and very open. I will never forget her. We will continue her struggle. “
Children as young as 12 can opt for euthanasia in the Netherlands but only after a doctor determines that the patient’s pain is unbearable.