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Sex abuse victim in her 20s allowed by doctors to choose euthanasia due to 'incurable' PTSD

The unnamed woman was abused between the age of five and 15

Wednesday 11 May 2016 11:33 BST

This picture taken in Brussels shows a Belgian 'euthanasia kit'. (GETTY IMAGES)

A sex abuse victim in the Netherlands has been been allowed to undergo euthanasia via lethal injection.

The unnamed woman in her 20s had suffered sexual abuse from the age of five to 15, according to papers released by the Dutch Euthanasia Commission.

As a result of her abuse, she suffered from post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD), severe anorexia, chronic depression and hallucinations, MailOnline reports.

Despite improvements in her mental state after "intensive therapy", Doctors believed her multiple conditions were incurable and two years ago agreed to her wish to end her life.

The doctors judged her to be "totally competent" and that there was "no major depression or other mood disorder which affected her thinking".

News of her death has caused controversy in the UK, where the debate over assisted dying is still divided.

Protests over assisted dying

Nikki Kenward, from disability rights group Distant Voices, said: "It is both horrifying and worrying that mental health professionals could regard euthanasia in any form as an answer to the complex and deep wounds that result from sexual abuse."

Labour MP, Robert Flello said: "It almost sends the message that if you are the victim of abuse, and as a result you get a mental illness, you are punished by being killed, that the punishment for the crime of being a victim is death.

Ambassadors For Assisted Dying

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"It serves to reinforce why any move towards legalising assisted suicide, or assisted dying, is so dangerous."

The details of this woman's case had been released by Dutch authorities to justify the legality of euthanasia, highlighting the level of medical supervision involved in assisted dying in the Netherlands.