29-year old Brittany Maynard uses last days to increase focus on elective death

In a recent interview for People magazine, 29-year-old Brittany Maynard explained why she is planning to take her own life. To accomplish this, she and her husband have moved from California to Oregon, one of the five states that allow elective death. And the date is set, November 1st, just two days after her husband’s birthday.

As Maynard explains it, she is not committing suicide. Instead, she is planning a “death with dignity.”

Earlier this year, Ms. Maynard was diagnosed with a lethal form of brain cancer called Glioblastoma Multiforme.

“My glioblastoma is going to kill me, and that’s out of my control,” she says. “I’ve discussed with many experts how I would die from it, and it’s a terrible, terrible way to die. Being able to choose to go with dignity is less terrifying.”

Read the full story: Terminally Ill 29-Year-Old Woman: Why I’m Choosing to Die on My Own Terms

During the time she has left, Maynard is attempting to change the way we think about elective death or “dying with dignity.”

It is Brittany’s wish for any American to be able to exercise the right to die when faced with a terminal diagnosis that would result in a lingering, painful death. She sees it as unjust that just because she and her family have the economic resources to pick up stakes and move to accommodate her literal dying wish they are in a position of privilege that most Americans are not.

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