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LGBT News Trans man chooses death after botched surgical transition

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by AtheistWorld, Dec 2, 2013.

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  1. AtheistWorld

    AtheistWorld Guest

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    Trans man chooses death after botched surgical transition | Gay Star News

    A trans man has chosen to be killed after his body rejected surgery to complete his transition.

    Nathan Verhelst, 44, from Belgium, said he had ‘unbearable psychological suffering’ and asked a doctor to euthanize him.

    On Monday afternoon (30 September), he died from a lethal injection.

    Back in 2009, Verhelst started hormone therapy and had a mastectomy. Last year, he underwent surgery to construct a penis.

    But when he looked in the mirror, his body was rejecting the surgery.

    ‘None of these operations worked as desired,’ Verhelst told a Belgian newspaper, hours before he went to die.

    ‘I was ready to celebrate my new birth, but when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted with myself.

    ‘My new breasts did not match my expectations and my new penis had symptoms of rejection.

    ‘I did not want to be a monster.’

    The man who carried out the lethal injection was Professor Wim Distelmans, a controversial figure who last year ended the lives of deaf twins who were going blind. Euthanasia is legal in Belgium as long as certain conditions are met.

    Verhelst informed his family of his decision to die in a letter. ‘I had happy times, but the balance is on the wrong side,’ he said.

    He recalled how his mother had loved his brothers, but appeared to hate him because he was born in the body of a girl.

    ‘While my brothers were celebrated,’ he said, ‘I got a storage room above the garage as a bedroom.

    ‘My mother complained, “If only you had been a boy”.’

    Verhelst’s mother confirmed she had not wanted him.

    ‘When I saw [Nathan’s birth name] for the first time, my dream was shattered. She was so ugly. I had a phantom birth. Her death does not bother me,’ his mother told Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper.

    ‘I will definitely read the letter but it will be full of lies.

    ‘For me, this chapter is closed. Her death does not bother me. I feel no sorrow, no doubt or remorse. We never had a bond.'
     
    #1 AtheistWorld, Dec 2, 2013
  2. NordicTrickster

    NordicTrickster Guest

    Can that mother get a lethal injection too?
     
    #2 NordicTrickster, Dec 2, 2013
  3. AtheistWorld

    AtheistWorld Guest

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    That's just what I was thinking. Poor thing was brainwashed into hating herself by her vindictive, misogynist monster of a mother. (I refer to her as a she because I don't think she was a man. She's a woman indoctrinated into hating herself by her self-hating mother).

    Am I only one who finds euthanization over something like that extremely disconcerting? It should be illegal to kill people whose lives are viable, but the Belgian govt doesn't value life obviously.
     
    #3 AtheistWorld, Dec 2, 2013
  4. NordicTrickster

    NordicTrickster Guest

    I believe that in some cases active euthanasia is acceptable but this is not one of them, this person needed therapy not death. I don't actually believe in killing the mother though, I'm against capital punishment. However that lady should have been jailed for child neglect years ago.
     
    #4 NordicTrickster, Dec 2, 2013
  5. Spitfire71

    Spitfire71
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    This. :***:

    To the contrary, the fact that Belgium has specific conditions that need to be met shows they do value human life. Most states, for the most part, only euthanize terminal patients in pain. The issue here is the doctor, who seems to have a proven track record with loose interpretations of the law. (Much how there are controversial abortion doctors performing late-term procedures, or controversial medical marijuana doctors handing out cards for anyone who asks.) I'm sure there were plenty of better options (and better doctors) before considering euthanasia, but the man sought out the doctor who'd do it for him, and he made the choice in the end.
     
    #5 Spitfire71, Dec 2, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2013
  6. AtheistWorld

    AtheistWorld Guest

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    If she were born a guy, none of this would have happened. I wonder what could have happened that made her mother such a misogynist? I don't support capital punishment for her - I was just echoing your disgust with her for her bad parenting.

    I agree - in cases where people are dying of cancer, or if they're in chronic severe pain, they should have the option to forfeit their lives. But she shouldn't have been allowed to be euthanized. Technically the killing he performed was legal, but that man is so depraved. Violated the oath he was sworn the moment he gave her the lethal injection.
     
    #6 AtheistWorld, Dec 2, 2013
  7. fulcrum

    fulcrum
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    Holy... Mother... Of... God... :-O

    What kind of monster is that woman??????? My heart bleeds with hatred for parents like that. :-(
     
    #7 fulcrum, Dec 2, 2013
  8. ba92

    ba92
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    That's pretty sad. I mean I knew women were heartless but damn.
     
    #8 ba92, Dec 2, 2013
  9. AwesomGaytheist

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    There was a thread about this in the Current Events section a long time ago.
     
    #9 AwesomGaytheist, Dec 2, 2013
  10. GivePeaceAChanc

    GivePeaceAChanc Guest



    don't really approve of death penalty - but can I slap her silly forever

    was this person ever really trans? or just trying to gain approval from mom?
     
    #10 GivePeaceAChanc, Dec 2, 2013
  11. AtheistWorld

    AtheistWorld Guest

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    I don't think she was trans. Hence the female pronouns. If she were truly trans she wouldn't have committed suicide upon being unable to grow a penis. Considering her circumstances and the low number of FAAB who are trans, I think we can say with absolute certainty she was not trans.

    When her transition failed to win her mom over, that's what resulted in her suicide. It's obvious she as suffering from mental illness, not a gender identity crisis.
     
    #11 AtheistWorld, Dec 2, 2013
  12. ScatteredEarth

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    This is heartbreaking. But it's a sad reality as to what some people are like in this world, and how it affects those around them. I agree something should have been done with the mother a long time ago. She clearly holds no room in that icicle of a heart for compassion. I only hope the father showed some form of love..
     
    #12 ScatteredEarth, Dec 2, 2013
  13. Hysteria

    Hysteria
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    This is horrible. I hope his mother feels like shit for the rest of her life knowing that she neglected her son and ultimately led to his death. No one deserves to have a parent so evil.
     
    #13 Hysteria, Dec 2, 2013
  14. SohoDreamer

    SohoDreamer
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    I keep seeing the terms 'FAAB' and 'MAAB' being used around here; what do they mean?
     
    #14 SohoDreamer, Dec 2, 2013
  15. ScatteredEarth

    ScatteredEarth
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    Female-Assigned At Birth = FAAB

    Male-Assigned At Birth = MAAB
     
    #15 ScatteredEarth, Dec 2, 2013
  16. GivePeaceAChanc

    GivePeaceAChanc Guest



    Female Assigned At Birth

    Male Assigned At Birth

    also used are

    Declared Male at Birth or

    Declared Male at Birth DMAB

    Declared Female at Birth DFAB

    this is rather than the older terms that are really bad "real" men or "real" womyn which are heinous and wrong

    I have heard nasty ones like GG and stuff also for Genuine Girl and stuff in the old days


     
    #16 GivePeaceAChanc, Dec 2, 2013
  17. SohoDreamer

    SohoDreamer
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    Thanks. :slight_smile:
     
    #17 SohoDreamer, Dec 2, 2013
  18. WallWeed

    WallWeed
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    My heart breaks for this poor soul, I can't even fathom that level of cruelty. Horrific.
     
    #18 WallWeed, Dec 2, 2013
  19. solarcat

    solarcat
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    Wow, there is so much awful in this story. First, living with that "mother", then being able to transition but his body rejects it...

    I have to agree with those above who think that euthanasia, while I support it in certain cases, was the wrong option, and that therapy might have been the better way to go.

    But honestly, would I have felt different if I were in his shoes?
     
    #19 solarcat, Dec 3, 2013
  20. An Gentleman

    An Gentleman
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    Wrong.
    The actual prevalence of trans men and trans women is roughly equal.

    ---------- Post added 5th Dec 2013 at 01:53 PM ----------
    Actually, I remember that thread...
     
    #20 An Gentleman, Dec 5, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2013
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