"Brittany Maynard, terminally ill advocate for death aids, dies at 29"
By: Frank Shyong
Source: Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-brittany-maynard-suicide-20141102-story.html
Brittany Maynard, a champion for the Death With Dignity Act, which allows patients of sound mind to request medical assistance to end their life, died in the loving arms of her family on Saturday. Maynard made national headlines with her decision to move to Oregon from California to take advantage of the Death With Dignity Act, which is only legal in four other states; Washington, Vermont, Montana and New Mexico. Maynard was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer on April of this year and her doctor told her she had six months to live at best. The State of California was to pass a similar law, but legislation was dismissed as it did not receive a sufficient amount of votes. Brittany Maynard a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Irvine, strongly advocated the passage of similar laws throughout the whole nation. She loved to travel, and even scaled Mount Kilimanjaro. On Saturday she consumed life ending drugs and passed away surrounded by her loved ones in her Portland, Oregon home. "If Nov. 2 comes along, and I've passed, I hope my family is still proud of me and the choices I've made," Maynard says in her video about her decision (Brittany Maynard).
Brittany Maynard's death must not be in vain. The Death With Dignity Act should be enacted in all fifty states of the Union. Terminally ill people should be able to decide if they want to end their lives peacefully, instead of being forced to endure pain and suffering, swallowing pills that would prolong the inevitable. If animals are put down humanely if they are suffering, why are humans not given the same right?
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