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Belgian woman commits suicide after sex reassignment surgery
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
Nowadays, many things are possible in modern medicine, even the issue of gender reassignment does not cause great difficulties. But in some cases, despite all efforts, medicine is powerless. For example, this happened to a Belgian woman named Nancy, who felt disgusted with herself after her gender reassignment.
Belgium is currently one of the few countries where "assisted suicide", i.e. assistance in voluntary death (euthanasia) is regulated at the legislative level. But one of the latest cases of euthanasia shocked even local residents who are accustomed to such cases.
At the age of 45, Nathan Fergelst voluntarily left this world. He did not suffer from a severe form of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis - none of the main reasons why sick Belgians and residents of other countries decide to resort to such radical measures as medical suicide. In 2009, Nathan began the process of changing his gender (before that time he was a woman). Even as a child, he realized that a man's soul resides in a woman's body. Since 2009, Nancy has gradually transformed into Nathan - hormonal therapy combined with surgical removal of female sexual characteristics. The final stage of transformation was the last penile plastic surgery, which was performed literally a few months ago. However, contrary to all expectations, male dignity led Nathan into a severe depression, which he was never able to overcome.
According to Belgian law, Nathan had every right to resort to euthanasia. The other day, a doctor injected Nathan (Nancy) with a lethal drug. Before that, Nathan shared his experiences with the newspaper Het Laatse Nieuws, namely, he said that after the operation he was going to celebrate his second birthday, but instead, when he looked at himself in the mirror after the operation, he felt disgusted.
According to the doctor who performed the euthanasia, Nathan spent about six months communicating with doctors, in particular psychiatrists. During the conversations, it was established that the patient's psychological problems were much more severe than a typical depressive disorder. Nathan was suffering from severe psychological suffering, and by law he could use the services of a specialized clinic for suicide.
In recent years, approximately 2% of deaths in Belgium have been the result of euthanasia, and the number of Belgian citizens who have chosen to leave this world in this way has increased by 25% since 2011.
According to Belgian law, euthanasia is possible at the personal request of a person, made in writing and only on condition that he is terminally ill and is subject to severe physical and mental suffering. In addition, the patient must be an adult and have no mental disorders. Belgium is currently preparing a number of amendments to the law, which will stipulate issues of medical suicide at the age of up to 15 years. Also, it may be possible to allow euthanasia for Alzheimer's patients, but only on condition that all documented wishes on this matter are drawn up before memory loss.
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