Brittany Maynard, Death with Dignity Advocate, Dies at 29
Brittany Maynard, an outspoken advocate of the death with dignity laws, died on Saturday, Nov. 1. The 29-year old took a lethal dose of barbiturates prescribed by a doctor, and according to Compassion & Choices, a non-profit that works to improve care and expand choices for people at the end of their lives, "she passed peacefully in her bed surrounded by close family and friends."
Last month, Maynard, who was diagnosed with a stage 4 malignant tumor earlier this year, made headlines when she announced that she planned to die on Nov. 1 in her home in Portland, Oregon with help from her doctor.
According to People magazine, Maynard posted the following message on her Facebook account on Saturday.
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"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," she wrote. "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!"
In an interview with People magazine last month, Maynard said that she had to uproot her family from California to Oregon to receive the barbiturates legally. Oregon was the first state to make it legal for a doctor to prescribe a life-ending drug to a terminally ill patient of sound mind who makes the request. The patient must swallow the medication without any help, and it is illegal for a doctor to administer it.
When Maynard was first diagnosed with the malignant tumor in January, doctors removed as much of the tumor as they could, but it reportedly came back larger than ever after two months. She researched her options, but after learning that she wouldn't survive, she opted not to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.
Maynard is survived by her husband Daniel Diaz, her mother Deborah Ziegler and her stepfather Gary Holmes.
