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 practitioner¹ willing to carry out the double killings² on the grounds that the couple's mental anguish³ constituted the unbearable⁴ suffering needed to legally justify⁵ 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 ailments⁶.

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 partially⁷ 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 decided⁸ 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。”

1 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

4 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

5 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

6 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

7 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。