未能同生但求共死 比利時夫婦決定同時安樂死大綱

An elderly husband and wife have announced their plans to die in the world's first 'couple'euthanasia - despite neither of them being terminally ill.

日前，比利時一對老夫婦宣佈將一起進行安樂死，雖然兩人都尚未病入膏肓。這將成爲世界上第一對共同安樂死的夫妻。

Instead the pair fear loneliness if the other one dies first from natural causes.

兩位老人之所以這麼決定是因爲他們擔心如果其中一位先離開，剩下的那位會孤單地度過餘生。

Identified only by their first names, Francis, 89, and Anne, 86, they have the support of their three adult children who say they would be unable to care for either parent if they became widowed.

89歲的弗朗西斯和86歲的安妮育有3個孩子，這3個已經成年的孩子表示父母有一位先去世，他們則無法照看剩下的那一位。

The children have even gone so far as to find a practitioner willing to carry out the double killings on the grounds that the couple's mental anguish constituted the unbearable suffering needed to legally justify euthanasia.

他們甚至已經找到了願意爲父母進行共同安樂死的醫生，理由是兩位老人的心理痛苦已到了無法承受的地步必須進行安樂死。

The couple, from Brussels, are receiving regular medical treatment for age-related ailments.

這對來自布魯塞爾的老夫婦由於年老，正在進行定期治療。

Francis has received treatment for prostate cancer for 20 years and is unable to spend a day without morphine and Anne is partially blind and almost totally deaf.

弗朗西斯由於前列腺癌已經接受了20年的治療，他一天都離不開嗎啡，而部分眼盲的安妮也幾乎要成聾子了。

They always go out shopping together because they are both scared that one day the other will not return home.

他們經常一起外出購物，因爲兩人都擔心有一天另外一個會回不來。

They decided that life in a care home was not an option because of their fear they would end up bedridden without the strength to insist on euthanasia.

他們不想去養老院，因爲他們擔心在養老院中臥牀不起，連堅持安樂死的力氣都沒有。

They planned to commit suicide on February 3 next year, their 64th wedding anniversary, by placing plastic bags over their heads after taking an overdose of sleeping pills.

他們之前還打算在明年2月3日—他們結婚64週年紀念的那天自殺，他們計劃先服用過量安眠藥，然後把塑料袋套在自己頭上。

'We want to go together because we both fear of the future,' said Francis. 'It's as simple as this: we are afraid of what lies ahead.

“我們想要一起離世，因爲我們都對未來不報什麼希望了。”弗朗西斯說：“很簡單，我們都害怕接下來要發生的事。”

'Fear of being alone and above all, fear of the consequences of loneliness.'

“其實就是害怕一個人孤孤單單地活着。”