The Shortlist of the Alfred Fried Photography Award 2017
26 Days
Aurelia is 29 and will die soon. Because it is her decision. In the Netherlands, where she lives, euthanasia has bee allowed since 2002. Every year several thousand people end their lives there legally with the help of a doctor, because their pain is unbearable and there is no chance of recovery. When is the suffering too much to live on? Aurelia suffers from a serious mental illness. She has had all possible treatments and therapies. She says, 'I want to end my suffering, I just want to die in dignity. I finally want peace!' Although euthanasia is legal for mentally ill people in the Netherlands, doctors allow it in just a few cases. On 31 December 2017, a phone call comes from the end-of-life-clinic: Aurelia is allowed to die, in 26 days.
Photos by Sandra Hoyn
Aurelia is 29 and will die soon. Because it is her decision. In the Netherlands, where she lives, euthanasia has bee allowed since 2002. Every year several thousand people end their lives there legally with the help of a doctor, because their pain is unbearable and there is no chance of recovery. When is the suffering too much to live on? Aurelia suffers from a serious mental illness. She has had all possible treatments and therapies. She says, 'I want to end my suffering, I just want to die in dignity. I finally want peace!' Although euthanasia is legal for mentally ill people in the Netherlands, doctors allow it in just a few cases. On 31 December 2017, a phone call comes from the end-of-life-clinic: Aurelia is allowed to die, in 26 days.
Photos by Sandra Hoyn
