Brittany Maynard

Brittany Lauren Maynard ( Anaheim , November 19, 1984 - 1 st November 2014) was an American reached a cancer terminal brain and decided to finally end his life with the physician-assisted suicide .

It was an important part of the legalization of medically assisted suicide in California , adopted on October 5, 2015 1 .

Biography

She was a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley , with a bachelor’s degree in psychology , obtained in 2006 and a Master’s degree in education in 2010.

She traveled to different countries to teach in orphanages.

The , He is diagnosed with an astrocytoma stage 2, which is a form of brain cancer 2 , 3 . She underwent craniectomy partial and partial resection of the temporal lobe in order to get rid of cancer 4 . In April 2014, the cancer returned but this time the doctors diagnosed him a stage 4 and a prognosis of 6 months remaining 4 .

To take advantage of Oregon’s Death With Dignity Law , which permits physician-assisted suicide by special conditions, she moved into the state of Oregon 5 . She will declare as a result of her move that

“It’s a relief to know that I’m not going to die the way my cancer is dying. My medications are in a safe place, I do not feel the need to watch them every day. I want to leave in peace in my room, to the sound of my favorites 2 . “

It expressly stated repeatedly that physician-assisted suicide was his best option and for his family 6 .

She joined forces with the association Compassion & Choices [ archive ] 7 , pro-suicide medically assisted and together they created the Brittany Maynard Fund [ archive ] , which aims to legalize the latter in states in which it is still illegal 8 . In an article by CNN entitled “My Right to Death with Dignity at 29,” she explains why she wants to die 9 .

She puts an end to her using medications that were prescribed to him, surrounded by his family, including his mother and her husband 10 . In a last post on Facebook ; It states:

“Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I chose to die with dignity in view of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that took me … but would have taken so much 11 . “

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Brittany Maynard, Advocate for Death With Dignity, Ends Her Life [ archive ]
  2. a and b A young woman revives the debate on euthanasia in the United States [ archive ] , on Le Figaro (accessed December 11, 2015 )
  3. ↑ ” United States: this young woman will die on November 1 [ archive ] , on Grazia.fr (accessed December 11, 2015 )
  4. a and b ( in ) Lindsey Bever , ” Cancer patient Brittany Maynard, 29, Has her death scheduled for Nov. 1 ” , on The Washington Post , ( ISSN 0190-8286 , read online [ Archive ] )
  5. ↑ ” At 29, an American diagnosed with incurable cancer chose the date of his death [ archive ] , on www.lexpress.fr (accessed 11 December 2015 )
  6. ↑ ” Cancer sufferer: Why I’m choosing to die on Nov 1 aged 29 [ Archive ] , on Telegraph.co.uk (accessed December 11, 2015 )
  7. ↑ ” The last words of an activist for euthanasia who killed himself [ archive ] , on The Huffington Post (accessed December 11, 2015 )
  8. ↑ ” Brittany Maynard: Cancer, she ends her life [ archive ] , on aufeminin (accessed December 11, 2015 )
  9. ↑ ” My right to death with Dignity at 29 [ archive ] , on CNN (accessed 11 December 2015 )
  10. ↑ ” United States: Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old American woman with an incurable cancer, has committed suicide [ archive ] , on metronews (accessed December 11, 2015 )
  11. ↑ ( en ) ” Assisted Suicide - The Day Brittany chose to die [ archive ] , on ParisMatch.com (accessed December 11, 2015 )