Yesterday while I was wasting time on Facebook, I came across a story about a beautiful woman named Brittany Maynard that really touched me. Brittany is a 29 your old newlywed who is in the prime of her life. From the outside looking in, she is living the American dream but there is something that you can’t tell by looking at Brittany Maynard. She is dying. On January 1st she received news that would change her life forever. She was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and told she only has a few months to live. Faced with the agonizing reality that she will most-liking die a slow and painful death, she has opted to take her life, on her own terms. Since assisted suicide is illegal in all but three US states Brittany and her husband have moved to Oregon which has the “Death with Dignity Act” allowing people to choose to die using medication. If you are not familiar with Assisted Suicide it’s when a person kills themselves with the aid of another person, sometimes a physician. According to http://www.thebrittanyfund.org, she has been prescribed medication by her physician which she will take when she is ready to die. The date she has set to die is November 1st.
Brittany Maynard & Charley Photo Credit: The Brittany Maynard Fund
This story has so many people divided, including myself. On one hand, I can understand not wanting to die painfully but on the other hand I believe in miracles and that only God knows when your time is up. Brittany’s story is unique in that her whole family is ok with her decision. I encourage you to watch Brittany’s story below and let me know what you think.
I’m not sure that I would take the same path as Brittany. It would be extremely depressing and hard to know the exact date that I would die, almost like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. But on the other hand I have no idea what she is going through. The pain, the fear, those are things that no one will understand unless you were in the exact same position as Brittany. By knowing how much time she has left, she has the advantage of being able to make the most of it by traveling, spending time with her family and saying her goodbyes. She is definitely an inspiring person to make everyone step back and at least take another look at this sensitive topic. I may not 100% agree with it, but it’s definitely made me think about what I would do, if I were in her shoes. So I want to hear what you think, whether it’s bad or good.
Do you think that we should be able to choose to die on our own terms?
To learn more about Brittany Maynard and her story you can visit http://www.thebrittanyfund.org.