Brittany Maynard has ended her life.

She wrote on her facebook: “Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love,” Maynard wrote on Facebook. “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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Godspeed to you, Brittany. I know some were against this, some understood your point of view and reasonsing. All I know is that you have no more pain and you left this world surrounded by your loved ones and did all you had on your bucket list. Life is gorgeous. I'm glad you got to marry your love, have a fun life, and I'm so sorry your cancer got so awful. I love you, dear woman.

www.people.com...

I'm glad she had the opportunity to pass in a painless and dignified way.
Much less messy than most other options.

a reply to: sarra1833

Good for her. Euthanasia should be entirely legal. It's your life. Shouldn't you be able to take it if you wish. I'm glad she chose to take a stand and carried herself with such dignity.

Precisely. She took her fate into her own hands, surrounded by loved ones. And now I guess five other states are looking into the right for people to choose their own death if they are in a similar situation. If one knows death is coming no matter what medicines could do, then they should be allowed to have the choice given them. If they choose it, beautiful. If they don't, beautiful. I guess most who have the life ending meds don't take them; it's just assuring knowing they HAVE the option if and when they do need it.

a reply to: sarra1833

I know some people will argue against this but until they watch someone go through a horrible degenerative disease, you have no right to say that a person should suffer through horrible pain & humiliation.

People have no problem putting down their dog when it is suffering in pain and can't control it's bowel/bladder but when it's a human, we let them suffer.

I think patients who have illnesses like ALS, MS & other horrible degenerative diseases, should be able to make the decision to end their life so they don't have to suffer horrible pains & humiliation. They should be allowed to tell their doctor they want to end their life and after, say 6 months and some counseling, if they still want to end their life they can.

I listened to an interview on CBC last year of a woman who was going to be traveling to another country so she could end her life and be free from a horrible degenerative disease and all the humiliation that goes along with it. You shouldn't have to fork out all that money just to be able to end your life with dignity and on your own terms.

a reply to: Sabiduria

I agree fully. If the inevitable is there, and there is no way around death, why not be allowed to die on ones own terms instead of wasting away, suffering in pain, losing all there is to oneself, putting that onto your loved ones, and so on? I do agree that we allow our animals to pass painfree yet our loved ones can't? Not cool. Just because humans can speak and rationalize and admit pain and so forth doesn't mean that takes away their right to a self decided passing if their illness is incurable and will bring suffering as they go along.

It's rough. If I were in Brittany's shoes, would I do it? I honestly don't know. Some things we can never know for sure until/unless we sit in the same or very similar seat in the boat. It's amazing how someone's mindset can change when in a different position in life.

originally posted by: sarra1833
If one knows death is coming no matter what medicines could do, then they should be allowed to have the choice given them.

We're all dying. Life is a terminal condition.

a reply to: Metallicus

Indeed it is. I'm glad you agree.

From the moment we are created we just have an instinct to live. To breath, to love, to experience all that we can. My grandfather was an amazing strong man, but at the end he was so weakened and in incredible pain and every night when we all felt he was to pass, he would take one more big breath. Again and again. He wanted to go, we all knew the sooner and quicker it would come, the better it would be. But something powerful inside is so strong and just want's to live, whether their body/brain/soul is ready to go or not.

And it's terrifying cruel to watch. It is majorly traumatic for everyone involved, especially when every quality of life has left, and mere breathing remains... Rattling gasps seemingly a minute apart.... Wow, I miss him so much.

If he'd had the option to decide when the right time to go was, he would have taken it a few months earlier to save himself some dignity and make the end his last decision.


Deciding to actually choose, and go through with it....?
Going against all those urges inside to keep living, to keep breathing...?
That takes some serious guts. My utmost respect and warmest thoughts go out to Brittany Maynard and her family. A beacon for moving individual rights in the right way.

I would MUCH rather take my own end into my hands than give the rest of my money to Big Pharma, Hospitals and Doctors to lie in a cold to the soul hospital room waiting to die while being pumped full of meds if I had a terminal illness which was going to bring me severe suffering. I'd rather my money go to those I love and cherish than watch my money waste away to people who don't truly know me nor care nor love me deeply.

No thanks. At least doing it via my own terms allows me no severe suffering, no wasting away, being in my own bed held close by my loved ones, hearing my beloved music instead of a heart monitor's tune, snug in my own blanket, wearing my own clothing, eating my own food before it happens, knowing that every cent I have minus the whatever those pills cost is safe and secure ready to be in the hands of my family. The memories I leave my loved ones would be me smiling at each one, saying I love them, then them watching me take a nap and just not waking again. Yeah the sadness would be there for them still - there is no way to stop that and I'd not want to. If there was no sadness, it would mean I wasn't loved at all. But that memory of me passing like that would be far kinder in their hearts than seeing me twisting in pain, body losing weight til I'm skeletal, gasping and wheezing and just a piece of ham maybe blinking now and then not knowing who anyone is.... no. I'd not leave them with those last memories AND broke.

No thank you. My way. I want it my way for this if this ever becomes a happenstance for me in the future. My way. My terms. My life. My 'see you soon'. My love. My money now theirs.

It's how it should be.

RIP

She has probably done more with her social media campaign to get legislation (not that we should need it) passed than any other advocate. She was a beautiful young woman, healthy and strong otherwise... loving husband and family, the exact face needed. Bless her.

I totally support her decision to end her life with dignity. If you have a brain tumor that is eventually going to kill you, then I see no harm in this kind of decision. Its an unbelievably herioc act, in my eyes, one that absolutley no one can judge unless you are in that position. I pray for your family and believe you are dancing with the angels.

a reply to: Glassbender777

I couldn't have said it better myself.
She did the right thing. The absolute right thing.

And I'm proud of all responders here who are graceful, caring and loving about all of this.
Faith in humanity +100000000000000000000000000000000000000.

a reply to: sarra1833

Morality aside, I honestly don't know if I'd be strong enough to allow my wife to leave me in this fashion, (or if it were me) to have the courage (?) to do what she did.

I hope to God I never have to be in a position where I have to make that choice.

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO
THAT GOOD NIGHT

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

-Dylan Thomas

God speed to her in her journey to the next life. She lived a heroic life and gave a great example to us all about what really matters. I would people take it to heart and get busy with their own lives because time is short for us all. She was very fortunate to be able to end her life with dignity, I would hope to be able to do the same when my time comes.
I watched both my parents die over the last 2 years, my father went very gently surrounded by family but my poor mother suffered horribly up to the end even under hospice care. What we learned was that if a patient cannot communicate that they are in pain they won't give them medication for it unless a family member more or less demands it. Hospice was a godsend but it's still not perfect and state laws have a big effect on the administration of pain medications depending on where the patient is - home, hospital or nursing home.

I dont mind the fact that she chose to take her own life, but I will say, I do not however believe it was necessary for her to make it a public issue. Its what really bothers me about the homosexual thing, I really dont care if you choose to be gay, but there is no reason to make it public....it just screams attention whore to me, and that is a real turn off for me. I know, a lot will say "well, she was an advocate for right to die, or dying with dignity", to which I say, then just die with dignity, not a media circus. Seriously, we have plenty going on in the world right now that really needs our attention and concern, and a person that wants to take their own life is not one of them we should be paying attention to. Suicide is one of if not the leading cause of death in the US. Thousands choose to do this every year.

a reply to: sarra1833

She was very brave. I have known two people whose husband and wife died slowly and painfully of cancer, neither of them can remember their loved one except the months of cancer eating them away in monstrous pain. I will never do that to my husband I want him to have good healthy fun memories of me if this should happen.

Besides the last months of seeing their loved ones covered in growing sores and unable to rest a second both lost everything due to the money involved with the months and months of slow death. The one man a retired IBM computer specialist lost their home and was on the street until he was taken in by a religious organization. The woman a loan officer lost everything and had to take a job in another town she lost their So. CA home with swimming pool and her job staying with her husband while he slowly died before her eyes.

a reply to: thesmokingman

Euthanasia and homosexuality are quite similar in that regard. If there weren't so many people screaming about how awful they are and legislating against them no one would have to stand up for the issue.

Isn't your screaming about how they should shut up just as bad? Such a weak hypocritical argument. The only reason either issue is an issue is because Christians just keep butting their heads into everything.

So do you also dislike Christians when they scream about their rights?