未能同生但求共死 比利时夫妇决定同时安乐死

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，比利时一对老夫妇宣布将一起进行安乐死，虽然两人都尚未病入膏肓。这将成为世界上第一对共同安乐死的夫妻。

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

两位老人之所以这么决定是因为他们担心如果其中一位先离开，剩下的那位会孤单地度过余生。

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岁的弗朗西斯和86岁的安妮育有3个孩子，这3个已经成年的孩子表示父母有一位先去世，他们则无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.

他们甚至已经找到了愿意为父母进行共同安乐死的医生，理由是两位老人的心理痛苦已到了无法承受的地步必须进行安乐死。

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

这对来自布鲁塞尔的老夫妇由于年老，正在进行定期治疗。

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.

弗朗西斯由于前列腺癌已经接受了20年的治疗，他一天都离不开吗啡，而部分眼盲的安妮也几乎要成聋子了。

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

他们经常一起外出购物，因为两人都担心有一天另外一个会回不来。

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.

他们不想去养老院，因为他们担心在养老院中卧床不起，连坚持安乐死的力气都没有。

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.

他们之前还打算在明年2月3日—他们结婚64周年纪念的那天自杀，他们计划先服用过量安眠药，然后把塑料袋套在自己头上。

'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.

“我们想要一起离世，因为我们都对未来不报什么希望了。”弗朗西斯说：“很简单，我们都害怕接下来要发生的事。”

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

“其实就是害怕一个人孤孤单单地活着。”