Terminally Ill 29-Year-Old Woman Takes Lethal Prescription Drug To Die

If you think about it, we put animals out of their misery when there is nothing left that can be done for them — why is it so different for humans?

Brittany Maynard Ends Life Following Battle With Terminal Brain Cancer

29-year-old Brittany Maynard, who had become the new face for the right-to-die movement ended her life this weekend, sparking a huge debate over whether or not she made the right decision and if others should be allowed to choose as she did.

Via NY Post reports:

Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old woman who decided to commit assisted suicide after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, took her own life this weekend with a lethal dose of prescribed drugs, a spokesman said Sunday.

“She passed peacefully in her bed surrounded by close family and loved ones,” said Sean Crowley, a spokesman for Compassion & Choices. She said she was going to take her life on Nov. 1, but Crowley didn’t say exactly when she died.

Maynard, who became a symbol for the right-to-die movement, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in January and given six months to live.

She moved from California to Portland, Oregon, to take advantage of that state’s Death with Dignity act, which allows patients to end their lives with the help of prescription drugs.

The story of Maynard’s mission went viral as she posted photos of her making her “bucket list” of things to do before she died.

“This week, my family and I traveled to the Grand Canyon,” she posted on her website on Oct. 24 along with pictures of her adventure.

In a piece for CNN, Maynard explained that she wanted to live but had to face the harsh reality that her disease would eventually kill her.

“I am not suicidal,” she wrote. “If I were, I would have consumed that medication long ago. I do not want to die. But I am dying. And I want to die on my own terms.”

Crowley said Maynard had suffered increasingly frequent and longer seizures.

Oregon was the first state to make it legal for a doctor to prescribe a life-ending drug to a terminally ill patient.

More than 750 people in Oregon used the law to die. Only six were younger than 35.

After watching the videos, do you have a better understanding of Brittany’s decision? Placed in her position, would you do the same? Why or why not?

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