Right-to-die campaigner ends her life

[Jazzy]

Right-to-die campaigner ends her life in the arms of her loved ones

A young woman who fought for the right to die has ended her life with a lethal drug.

Brittany Maynard, 29, had brain cancer and moved so that she could die by physician-assisted suicide ‘in the arms of her loved ones’.

She died on Saturday, weeks after saying she was considering using the lethal drugs at some point before her 30th birthday.

Sean Crowley, spokesman for Compassion & Choices said Maynard ‘suffered increasingly frequent and longer seizures, severe head and neck pain, and stroke-like symptoms.’

He added: ‘As symptoms grew more severe, she chose to abbreviate the dying process by taking the aid-in-dying medication she had received months ago.’

Before dying, Maynard tried to live life as fully as she could. She and her husband, Dan Diaz, took a trip to the Grand Canyon last month – fulfilling a wish on Maynard’s ‘bucket list.’

Maynard has been in the national spotlight for a month since publicizing that she and her husband had moved to Oregon from California so that she could take advantage of this state’s Death With Dignity Law. The law allows terminally ill patients to end their lives with lethal drugs prescribed by a doctor.

The debate over physician-assisted suicide is not new, but Maynard’s youth and vitality before she became ill brought the discussion to a younger generation.

Working with Compassion & Choices, Maynard used her story to speak out for the right of terminally ill people like herself to end their lives on their own terms.

Maynard’s choice to end her life has not been without controversy. Some religious groups and others opposed to physician-assisted suicide have voiced objections.

Janet Morana, executive director of the group Priests for Life, said in a statement after hearing of Maynard’s death: ‘We are saddened by the fact that this young woman gave up hope, and now our concern is for other people with terminal illnesses who may contemplate following her example. Our prayer is that these people will find the courage to live every day to the fullest until God calls them home.’

Thoughts?

 

[Dee]

I hope she went peacefully, and I hope her family manages to stick together, support and love one another, and remember her as the very pretty, very sweet woman she seemed to be.

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

I can't imagine being that husband and just sit there and let her end her life.

 

[Jazzy]

Janet Morana, executive director of the group Priests for Life, said in a statement after hearing of Maynard’s death: ‘We are saddened by the fact that this young woman gave up hope, and now our concern is for other people with terminal illnesses who may contemplate following her example.

Gave up hope for what? There was no cure. Was she supposed to live her life in constant pain and suffering? People who say she had no right to take her own life, never walked a day in this womens shoes.

She had a right to end her life and die with dignity. May she now be resting peacefully.

 

[Dee]

I read up about some "survivors" who live around 12 months to 3+ years, and the quality of life drops SIGNIFICANTLY to the point of permanent loss of speech, inability to walk, inability to swallow (needing a feeding tube), continued seizures, memory loss, continued debilitating headaches, and eventual rapid onset of death. There is no cure for this and those symptoms are even after surgery. Survival rate isn't even improved after that, it just prolongs and brings on more symptoms, so I don't blame her for making this choice. I feel for her family having to suffer from this too, but I hope they understand that this was the end of the road for her. She was right when she said cancer is ending her life, but she's deciding to end it a little sooner before all this gets worse.

 

[Jazzy]

Her family not only understands but accepted and agreed with her choice (from the article):

Maynard told The Associated Press last month that she and her husband and other relatives accepted her choice.

‘I think in the beginning my family members wanted a miracle; they wanted a cure for my cancer.’ she said. ‘When we all sat down and looked at the facts, there isn’t a single person that loves me that wishes me more pain and more suffering.’

 

[Dee]

I know I wouldn't want to see a loved one suffering slowly and steadily from a terminal illness. That would be a horrible thing to ask of them to live with their illness because I didn't want them to go yet. In this case, I think she made a good decision for her and her family. Well, the lesser of two evils, anyway. She constantly said she didn't want to die. I'm quite sure if she had a choice, she would live, but this was going to take her life much earlier than it would've if she hadn't been sick.