Assignment: Loving, living and dying together in the Netherlands

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2024

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Els and Jan have fewer than three days left on Earth. Childhood sweethearts who met in kindergarten more than six decades ago, they know precisely when they will die. And how. On an early summer’s Monday morning they will travel to a nearby hospice. Some of their family and friends will accompany them. And then precisely at 10.30am - holding hands, they hope - two doctors will administer lethal medication to each of them.

In the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal if someone is suffering unbearably with no prospect of getting better. The suffering can be physical or psychological. Els was diagnosed with dementia. Jan lived with pain 24/7.

Last year, 33 Dutch couples chose to die like Els and Jan. And in February, one of the Netherlands’ former Prime Ministers ended his life by euthanasia together with his wife.

For Assignment, Linda Pressly meets Els and Jan as they prepare for the end. And she explores the complex issue of allowing euthanasia in cases of dementia. A warning: some listeners might find the content of this documentary upsetting.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Thanks for downloading the documentary from the BBC World Service.
0:03.8	Now this edition of assignment was quite a long time in gestation.
0:08.2	It was last year when I was looking at the euthanasia statistics from the Netherlands that I noticed a category I hadn't seen before.
0:15.7	It was for duo euthanasia, for couples who decided to die together.
0:21.6	Assisted dying in euthanasia is illegal in most countries, but that doesn't mean it isn't
0:26.3	debated widely. Anyway, it wasn't until the end of May this year that I got a call from someone
0:32.4	who told me they knew of a couple who
0:34.4	might like to share their story with the BBC. Now some of you might not find this
0:39.8	an easy listen. This is the documentary from the BBC World Service.
0:47.0	I'm Linda Presley with assignment.
0:49.0	On an early summer's Friday afternoon in the green watery landscape of
0:56.6	Friesland in the north of the Netherlands, a motor caravan sits on the concrete
1:00.9	dock of a yachting marina.
1:03.0	Hello!
1:05.0	Els, nice to meet you.
1:08.0	Thank you very much for welcoming into your lovely home.
1:14.4	It's for sale after Monday.
1:17.0	Any buyers?
1:18.0	Not yet. I thought you.
1:20.0	Yannanels have fewer than three days left on earth and they still like to laugh.
1:27.0	The reason their motorhome is for sale after Monday is because this adventurous pair won't be here anymore.
1:37.0	Jan is 70 and in continual physical pain.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.