Brittany Maynard, Who Had Incurable Brain Cancer, Ends Her Life
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Design Pics/Thinkstock(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Terminally ill Portland, Oregon, resident Brittany Maynard, who became a symbol for the right-to-die movement, has ended her own life. She was 29.
Diagnosed with an incurable form of brain cancer and given less than six months to live, Maynard moved to Oregon to take advantage of the state’s physician-assisted suicide law.
Maynard took lethal medication prescribed by a doctor and died late Saturday, “as she intended — peacefully in her bedroom, in the arms of her loved ones,” Sean Crowley, a Compassion & Choices spokesman, said in a statement.
“We’re sad to announce the passing of a dear and wonderful woman, Brittany Maynard. She passed peacefully in her bed surrounded by close family and loved ones,” Compassion & Choices, a non-profit that works to improve care and expand the choices for people at the end of their lives, said on its Facebook page.
Over the past few months, Maynard and her husband, Dan Diaz, have used the time to complete the sick woman’s bucket list that included visiting the Grand Canyon.
Maynard has also had to deal with criticism from those who believed she had no right to end her life. However, she told People magazine last month, “For people to argue against this choice for sick people really seems evil to me. They try to mix it up with suicide and that’s really unfair, because there’s not a single part of me that wants to die. But I am dying.”
Maynard’s final message on Facebook was as follows, “Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me…but would have taken so much more. The world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers. I even have a ring of support around my bed as I type. …Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!”
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