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Tag: assisted suicide

  • Debbie Purdy, Right-to-Die Activist, Has Died

    Debbie Purdy, a British right-to die activist, died of complications from Multiple Sclerosis at the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford on December 23rd. She was 51 years old.

    According to a report from the Independent, Purdy’s husband, Cuban jazz violinist Omar Puente, confirmed his wife’s passing.

    “We would like to thank the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford for the care the staff gave her, which allowed her last year to be as peaceful and dignified as she wished,” he said.

    Debbie Purdy was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 31, shortly after meeting her husband in Singapore in 1995.

    Over the past few years her condition had deteriorated, and she was unable to leave her home. She couldn’t leave her bed unless she was assisted by a nurse.

    The BBC reported it is believed Purdy was refusing food at the facility where she lived during the last weeks of her life, as a means of ending her life. She was unable to afford to travel abroad to an assisted dying clinic.

    It was back in 2008 when Debbie Purdy began her battle to make the laws surrounding assisted suicide clearer. She tried to determine whether or not her husband could be prosecuted for helping her to die. But the High Court and the Court of Appeal refused to say he would not be. She did win a huge legal victory the following year, however, when guidelines on assisted suicide were published by the UK government.

    In the United States just this past fall, Brittany Maynard, who suffered from an incurable brain tumor, ended her own life by consuming a cocktail of doctor-prescribed medications. She and her husband and parents moved from California to Oregon because assisted suicide isn’t illegal there. Debbie Purdy, being in the UK, had no such immediately available option.

  • Brittany Maynard Continues To Advocate After Death

    Brittany Maynard left behind a video to continue the momentum of her death-with-dignity movement after she was gone.

    She died by her own choice on November 1st from a combination of lethal drugs that were legally prescribed for her in Oregon.

    Brittany Maynard became a spokesperson for death-with-dignity when she announced that she would end her own life. She made the decision after she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer that left her with intolerable headaches, seizures, and memory loss.

    In the new video, released on what would have been her birthday, she says, “I hope for the sake of other American citizens … that I’m speaking to that I’ve never met, that I’ll never meet, that this choice be extended to you.”

    Maynard added, “That we mobilize, that we vocalize, that we start to talk about it. I decided to share my story … because I felt like this issue of death with dignity is misunderstood by many people in our community and culture.”

    The video was shot on August 2nd. Brittany Maynard decided to end her life before she could see her 30th birthday. She admitted that it would just be too sad for her.

    “The idea of celebrating my 30th birthday is quite difficult because my life was moving forward in such a great way,” she told People, “and to get this diagnosis turns your whole life upside down.”

    Brittany Maynard asked her husband and her mother to continue her advocacy for death-with-dignity organizations and to continue to lobby for the rights of terminal patients to choose death on their own terms.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1UhPChuYqY

    “She said if I was so inclined that she would like to see the work on getting death with dignity passed in all 50 states go on,” Debbie Ziegler said last month.

    “She would like to see that not stop, not be a 15-minute thing,” she continued. “We want to let people know that this is not as frightening as anyone makes it out to be. It’s really one choice of many. We all have many, many choices on how we handle our last days when we learn we are very ill, and everyone’s choice should be honored.”

    It sounds like Brittany Maynard’s legacy will not slow down any time soon, even though she is gone. What do you think of the death-with-dignity movement?

  • Brittany Maynard Fights For Death With Dignity Beyond Her Own Passing

    The woman who chose to end her life after being diagnosed with a rare and debilitating form of brain cancer is still fighting for the right to death with dignity after her own passing on November 1. Brittany Maynard chose the date to end her suffering by ingesting prescribed barbiturates and would have turned 30 on November 19, but a video released by aid-in-dying advocates is helping her keep up the fight.

    In the video, recorded on August 2 and released on her birthday, Maynard urges others to campaign for death with dignity laws for the entire country. “I hope for the sake of other American citizens — all these people I’m speaking to that I’ve never met, that I’ll never meet — that this choice be extended to you… That we mobilize. That we vocalize. That we start to talk about it,” said Maynard in the video.

    Maynard’s choice to end her life in the face of a painful terminal illness has prompted responses from the Vatican. Pope Francis reportedly called assisted suicide “a false sense of compassion” in a recent meeting with the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors. Meanwhile, Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said on November 3, just days after Maynard’s death that her choice to end her life was “reprehensible.” De Paula reportedly said, “We don’t judge people, but the gesture in itself is to be condemned. Assisted suicide is an absurdity. Dignity is something different than putting an end to your own life.”

    Maynard’s mother, Debbi Ziegler, responded to the monsignor’s words with her own statement, believed to be the first from her family since her daughter passed away. “This word was used publicly at a time when my family was tender and freshly wounded. Grieving,” Ziegler wrote. “Such strong public criticism from people we do not know, have never met, is more than a slap in the face. It is like kicking us as we struggle to draw a breath.”

  • Brittany Maynard Dies, Leaves Hard Questions Behind

    Brittany Maynard died on Saturday, peacefully and surrounded by her husband, parents, and her best friend.

    The lovely young newlywed captured the attention of the everyone in the nation. Then everyone seemed to zealously take one side or another on her choice.

    Despite mostly religious cries that she was doing the wrong thing or sinning by taking her own life, she made the difficult decision to die on her own terms.

    For example, Maggie Karner, a woman with the same kind of brain cancer that was slowly taking Brittany Maynard’s life, posted an open letter to Maynard on YouTube.

    In it she says, “All of us are feeling your loss, your pain. Nobody is judging, but people are watching.”

    She then compared Maynard to a jumper on a ledge.

    “What would happen if our society decided to yell to that ledge jumper, ‘Yeah, you’re right, there isn’t a better way. Go ahead,’” Karner asked.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7BWM1JKIBk

    In an interesting turn of metaphor, Benjamin L. Corey, of Patheos, also eloquently compared Brittany to a jumper.

    But, not just any jumper, the iconic “Falling Man” featured in a 9/11 photo by Richard Drew.

    You probably remember the startling and disturbing images, and sounds, of people hitting the pavement and lower roofs on the live footage of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. Corey likens Brittany Maynard to those jumpers in that they didn’t choose to die, but they did choose how they would die.

    Instead of suffocating in the heavy smoke or burning to death in the flames, they chose an inevitable end to their lives that would be quicker and less painful. Yet, Corey points out, no one rose up and called their actions wrong or sinful.

    In fact, the cause of their deaths was listed as homicide by blunt force trauma.

    A spokesman from the New York City medical examiners office put it this way, “Jumping indicates a choice, and these people did not have that choice.”

    She added, “That is why the deaths were ruled homicide, because the actions of other people caused them to die…”

    Brittany Maynard’s situation has polarized the country like not very many issues can. What do you think about her choice?

  • Brittany Maynard Visits Grand Canyon, Seminarian and Christian Speaker Pray She’ll Reconsider

    Brittany Maynard crossed yet another milestone off her bucket list this week when she paid a visit–along with her husband, mother, and stepfather–to the Grand Canyon. The trip was a difficult one and she reportedly had one of her worst seizures ever following the trip.

    “Thanks to the kindness of Americans around the country who came forward to make my ‘bucket list’ dream come true,” she wrote in a statement. “The Canyon was breathtakingly beautiful, and I was able to enjoy my time with the two things I love most: my family and nature.”

    “Sadly, it is impossible to forget my cancer … and unfortunately the next morning I had my worst seizure thus far,” she added. “My speech was paralyzed for quite a while after I regained consciousness. The seizure was a harsh reminder that my symptoms continue to worsen as the tumor runs its course. However, I find meaning and take pride that the Compassion & Choices movement is accelerating rapidly.”

    Brittany Maynard has decided to end her life on November 1st. She suffers from a brain tumor that is slowly, but surely taking her life. She wants to ‘die with dignity,’ with her husband and parents at her side. Some people are completely in tune with her choice. Others are praying she will–even at the last minute–change her mind about taking her own life.

    Philip Johnson is also suffering from an incurable form of brain cancer. The 30-year-old is a Catholic seminarian who wants very much to live long enough to serve people as a priest. He wrote a letter just a few days ago to Brittany Maynard that he titled, ‘Dear Brittany, Our Lives Are Worth Living Even With Brain Cancer.’

    “I have lived through six years of constant turmoil, seizures, and headaches. I often changed hospitals and doctors every few months, seeking some morsel of hope for survival. Like Brittany, I do not want to die, nor do I want to suffer the likely outcome of this disease. I do not think anyone wants to die in this way. Brittany states relief that she does not have to die the way that it has been explained that she would – she can die “on her own terms.” I have also consulted with my doctors to learn how my illness is likely to proceed. I will gradually lose control of my bodily functions at a young age, from paralysis to incontinence, and it is very likely that my mental faculties will also disappear and lead to confusion and hallucinations before my death. This terrifies me, but it does not make me any less of a person. My life means something to me, to God, and to my family and friends, and barring a miraculous recovery, it will continue to mean something long after I am paralyzed in a hospice bed. My family and friends love me for who I am, not just for the personality traits that will slowly slip away if this tumor progresses and takes my life,” Johnson writes.

    “…Suffering is not worthless, and our lives are not our own to take. As humans we are relational – we relate to one another and the actions of one person affects others. We do not seek pain for its own sake, but our suffering can have great meaning if we try to join it to the Passion of Christ and offer it for the conversion or intentions of others. While often terrifying, the suffering and pain that we will all experience in our lives can be turned into something positive. This has been a very difficult task for me, but it is possible to achieve.”

    Joni Eareckson-Tada is the founder of a ministry called Joni and Friends. It is dedicated to extending the love and message of Jesus Christ to people who are affected by disabilities around the world. Joni became a quadriplegic after a swimming accident in her teens and has also battled breast cancer.

    Eareckson-Tada also wrote an open letter to Brittany Maynard, pleading with her to rethink her plan.

    “The hours are ticking away; please, Brittany, open your heart to the only One who can do something about your pain and death,” Eareckson-Tada said in a blog post on her website.

    “Life is the most irreplaceable and fundamental condition of the human experience, and I implore you to take a long, hard look at the consequences of your decision which is so fatal, and worst of all, so final,” she added.

    Brittany Maynard moved to Oregon because it is one of only five states that allow people the ‘right to die.’ Her family backs her decision.

    No one knows what Brittany Maynard or her family will experience in the next few days–those leading up to November 1st when she plans to end her life. No one knows what her family will experience in the days after the fact.

    If Brittany Maynard were your loved one, which way do you expect you might go? Would you–like Philip Johnson and Joni Eareckson-Tada beg her to rethink her decision? Or would you resolve to watch her end her suffering from this disease that will wind up taking her life regardless of what is decided?

  • Brittany Maynard Nears Date Of Death, Champions Death By Dignity Act

    November 1 is the date that 29-year-old Brittany Maynard has chosen to end her life. Maynard was diagnosed with one of the deadliest forms of cancer, Gliobastoma, on New Year’s Day of 2014. After undergoing partial craniotomy and a partial resection of her temporal lobe, Maynard was told in April that she only had six months to live. Instead of choosing to get treatment that would render her physically unable to enjoy her last days alive, Maynard and her husband Dan Diaz then chose to move from California to Oregon, which is one of five states in the US with a “Death With Dignity Act.”

    Maynard is relieved that the option of a physician-assisted suicide assures her that she doesn’t have to go through periods of losing consciousness or losing her speech, which are effects of having a brain tumor. However, she has already had to live with the dramatic changes brought on by her illness, from experiencing seizures and gaining 25 pounds to giving up her dream of having children and her valued teaching job.

    Her story has reignited the debate on physician-assisted suicide, and made Maynard the target of criticism due to religious concerns about the issue. “I struggle to even think of this woman’s plan to end her own life prematurely, as courageous. Because it is not. Rather it is anything but. In fact, in my mind, it is a self-destructive act of selfish cowardice to end your own life before God’s perfect timing,” wrote Chaplain Adele M. Gill on Catholic Online.

    Only Washington, Oregon, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico allow physician-assisted suicide, but the organization for which Maynard now volunteers, Compassion & Choices, is reportedly working to make it legal in other states. Maynard recounted how moving to Oregon to avail of death by dignity required a tremendous amount of resources and support from friends and family that may not be available to other people. “I had to find new physicians, establish residency in Portland, search for a new home, obtain a new driver’s license, change my voter registration and enlist people to take care of our animals, and my husband, Dan, had to take a leave of absence from his job. The vast majority of families do not have the flexibility, resources and time to make all these changes,” Maynard said.

    “I didn’t launch this campaign because I wanted attention; in fact, it’s hard for me to process it all. I did this because I want to see a world where everyone has access to death with dignity, as I have had. My journey is easier because of this choice,” said Maynard.

  • Brittany Maynard Talks About Her Death Decision

    Brittany Maynard has less than one month to live, but her terminal brain cancer won’t be taking her life. Maynard has decided to end her own life rather than endure a long, painful death at the hands of cancer.

    Maynard announced to the media earlier this month that she intends to take her own life on November 1. She and her husband this year moved to Oregon, one of the few states where assisted suicide is legal. In a recent editorial published by CNN Maynard revealed that she is already in possession of the doctor-prescribed drugs that will end her life. From the editorial:

    I’ve had the medication for weeks. I am not suicidal. If I were, I would have consumed that medication long ago. I do not want to die. But I am dying. And I want to die on my own terms.

    In January Maynard was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. She underwent a partial craniotomy to remove the tumor, but the surgery didn’t succeed. Maynard’s cancer was back by April and doctors gave her only six months to live. Instead of facing months of radiation therapy, pain, and possible cognitive difficulties Maynard chose to forego treatment and seek out a “death with dignity” option.

    Maynard recently spoke again with People to describe her final vacation plans. She told the publication that she and her family had a “beautiful day” driving through Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. Maynard’s mother stated that a trip to the Grand Canyon was also possible before the end of the month.

    Post by Compassion & Choices.

    Maynard’s decision has become a rallying cry for advocates of assisted suicide. The topic has been largely absent from U.S. political debate in recent years, but Maynard’s story looks to bring more attention to the topic. Maynard has partnered with Compassion and Choices, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting assisted suicide, to create The Brittany Maynard Fund. Maynard recently posted an update to the fund’s blog, urging people to support the cause and help those who would otherwise die in pain.

    I didn’t launch this campaign because I wanted attention; in fact, it’s hard for me to process it all. I did this because I want to see a world where everyone has access to death with dignity, as I have had. My journey is easier because of this choice.