Noa Pothoven

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Noa Pothoven (born December 8, 2001 in Arnhem ; † June 2, 2019 there ) was a Dutch activist and author . She advocated better conditions for mentally ill young people and more information on this topic. Her death at the age of just 17 sparked an international outcry as some media, particularly foreign ones, falsely reported that her death was brought about through active euthanasia. At the end of 2018, Pothoven had publicly expressed her wish to die and also applied for permission to euthanasia in her case. In fact, she died from quitting eating and drinking in agreement with her family. Noa suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and eating disorders caused by multiple sexual offenses and one rape.

Life and activism

Noa Pothoven was born in Arnhem in 2001 . She had two younger siblings. She gained fame through her autobiography Winnen of leren ("Winning or Learning"), which was published when she was 16 years old. In it, she criticized the way in which mental illnesses are dealt with in her country. For the book she received a prize ( BoekGoud ) from the Boekscout publishing house and became well known. The publication also led the Dutch parliament to discuss procedures in the treatment of mentally ill young people in the Netherlands. Among other things, Pothoven wrote in her biography: “If you could be a danger to yourself or to others and are to be admitted against your will, the juvenile court will decide. As a minor, you get a lawyer to represent you. The negotiations made a great impression on me. I sat there like a criminal, even though I had never stolen a piece of chocolate. In my opinion, depressed young people shouldn't have to go through a lawsuit. "

In December 2018 the De Gelderlander newspaper published an interview with Pothoven and her family about their autobiography and their desire for euthanasia. In the interview, Noa talked about her struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by multiple sexual offenses and one rape. She also talked about her anorexia , self-harming behavior and how she had to wait very long for psychological treatment. She also said she was disappointed that her request for euthanasia was not granted, despite having been hospitalized twenty times after attempting suicide . She had asked for euthanasia in an end-of-life clinic in The Hague , but was turned down because of her age. In her book, she described being the victim of a sexual offense at a school party when she was 11 and later at another party as a teenager. She also wrote that she was raped by two men in the Elderveld district of Arnhem when she was 14 years old. She was too ashamed of the incident to tell her family about it. She only found out about it through the farewell letters she had left. Pothoven never reported the crimes.

In March 2019, Pothoven told the Dutch Vice that she wrote her autobiography during her hospital stays. She wrote on it "for two to three months in the isolation cell from evening through night until morning". She wore a tear-resistant dress so that she couldn't hang herself with the fabric and was under constant video surveillance. Pothoven said that she first started her autobiography as a diary, but that she wanted to publish it later in order to break the taboo on mental illness among adolescents.

In April 2019, a month before she died, Pothoven wrote an article and a poem for the website of Hogeschool Leiden (University of Applied Sciences of Leiden ) to achieve awareness of the issue of mental illness among young people. Noa wrote there that she suffered from complex post-traumatic stress disorder , anorexia, depression , obsessive-compulsive disorder , self-harming behavior, and psychosis . In her therapies, symptoms such as depression, anorexia or self-harming behavior were treated, but not "the real problem", PTSD. She asked for better mental health care and denounced that waiting times for treatments were "bizarre" and should be greatly reduced.

Death and media reactions

In May 2019, Pothoven stopped eating and drinking. In 2018, she was put into an artificial coma so that doctors could force-feed her through a feeding tube. However, in May 2019, Pothoven's family granted their request to have the tube removed, and doctors switched to palliative care. Her last Instagram post appeared on May 30, 2019 , in which she wrote: “After years of struggle, I'm exhausted. I stopped eating and drinking a while ago. And after many discussions and judgments, the decision was made to let me go because my suffering is unbearable. ”On June 2, 2019, Pothoven's sister confirmed her death at the age of 17. Pothoven spent her last days on a sick bed in her family's living room and said goodbye to friends and family.

Many foreign media reported that her death was caused by euthanasia under the Dutch euthanasia law Toetsing levensbeëindiging op verzoek en hulp bij zelfdoding . Some even reported that they received a fatal injection. Reactions to the false reporting on euthanasia and euthanasia even came from Pope Francis .

Journalists from many countries tried to speak to Pothoven's family. The family expressed regret to the Dutch media about false reports abroad that Noa's death was euthanasia. They hoped that “their story will have a higher meaning and that care for mentally ill young people in the Netherlands will now be improved”. Some media later corrected their reports on Pothoven.

Publications

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pim Roelofs: Noa wint prijzen met book over depressies en anorexia (Dutch) . In: De Gelderlander , March 23, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  2. ↑ Uitreiking van de publieksprijs en vakjuryprijzen BoekGoud 2018 (Dutch) , Boukgoed. March 22, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  3. ↑ a b Henk van Gelder: Noa is 17 years old: 'Ik word losgelaten omdat mijn lijden ondraaglijk is' (Dutch) . In: De Gelderlander , June 3, 2019. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. 
  4. ↑ a b Noa Pothoven is klaar met het leven, maar weet toch other te inspireren (Dutch) . March 22, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  5. ↑ a b Paul Bolwerk: Noa (16) uit Arnhem is nu al klaar met hair verwoeste leven (Dutch) . In: De Gelderlander , December 1, 2018. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  6. ↑ a b c d Why Dutch teenager Noa's tragic death was misunderstood , BBC News. June 6, 2019. 
  7. ↑ a b c Isaac Stanley-Becker: Anguished Dutch teen who was raped dies after euthanasia request . In: Washington Post , June 5, 2019. 
  8. ↑ a b c Janene Pieters: Global media misreports Dutch teen author's death as 'legal euthanasia' . 5th June 2019. 
  9. ↑ Lezersblog Noa, 17 jaar (Dutch) . April 3, 2019. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. 
  10. ↑ Blog van Noa Pothoven, 17 jaar (Dutch) . April 3, 2019. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. 
  11. ↑ Romy van der Poel: Waarom werd de dood van een Arnhems meisje wereldnieuws? (Dutch) . June 6, 2019. 
  12. ↑ Erandi Godinez: Noa (17) wilde niet meer leven: 'Het is op' (Dutch) . June 4, 2019. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. 
  13. ↑ a b Senay Boztas: Award-winning teen writer Noa Pothoven chooses to die due to 'unbearable suffering' . June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  14. ↑ a b c Waarom het overlijden van de 17-year-old Noa uit Arnhem wereldnieuws is (Dutch) , NOS. June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  15. ↑ Shannon Bakker: NUcheckt: Dood Nederlands meisje werd ont right euthanasia genoemd (Dutch) . June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  16. ^ Jon Henley: Dutch girl was not 'legally euthanized' and died at home . In: The Guardian , June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  17. ↑ Media misreported Dutch teen Noa Pothoven's death as euthanasia . June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  18. ↑ Odero Charles: Court allows teenager who was raped by two men to legally end her life . June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. "Noa approached a euthanasia clinic in December and was granted euthanasia because her case met all the conditions required by law since the practice was legalized in the Netherlands in 2002." 
  19. ^ A 17-year-old Dutch rape victim died Sunday after seeking assisted death a year earlier . June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. 
  20. ↑ Paus tweet na dood Arnhemse Noa (17): 'Euthanasia kent alleen verzers' (Dutch) . In: De Telegraaf , June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  21. ^ Robert Gearty: Dutch rape victim, 17, dies after euthanasia request , Fox News. June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. 
  22. ↑ Henk van Gelder: Noa's (17) zelfgekozen dood has become wereldnieuws, hair family wil radiostilte (Dutch) . In: Algemeen Dagblad , June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. 
  23. ↑ Yuto Nakashima: Update: Dutch girl Noa Pothoven (17) who was raped as a child was NOT euthanized . 5th June 2019. 
personal data
SURNAME Pothoven, Noa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch activist and author
DATE OF BIRTH December 8, 2001
PLACE OF BIRTH Arnhem
DATE OF DEATH 2nd June 2019
Place of death Arnhem