Janine from Meppel wants to be able to determine her own end of life. That is why she is participating in a lawsuit against the state. ‘An incontinent cat can go to heaven, but with humans it has to be so complicated’

The father of Janine de Graaf-Klunder from Meppel (60) was demented when he ended up in hospital for something else. There he lay in a so-called ‘tent bed’, a closed cabin that is placed on top of the bed. He was safer in the small space, so he could no longer get out of bed on his own. Janine de Graaf-Klunder slept on a stretcher next to him. “‘If I can’t take care of myself anymore, I don’t want to go on,’ he has always said.” Now that moment had arrived. “But we couldn’t do anything for him.” Euthanasia was not an option, because due to his condition he was no longer allowed to decide on it.