Brittany Maynard Planned to Die on Nov. 1. Now, Her Plans Have Changed.
Katrina Trinko /
Brittany Maynard, the Oregon woman who made news earlier this month with her plans to die on Nov. 1, has released a new video announcing a change in plans.
Maynard, who has terminal brain cancer, still intends to choose when she dies, “I still feel good enough and I still have enough joy and I still laugh and smile with my family and friends enough that it doesn’t seem like the right time right now,” although “it will come, because I feel myself getting sicker. It’s happening each week.”
>>> Read More: This 29-Year-Old Woman Has Chosen to Die. Why That’s a Loss for All of Us.
Maynard’s original video has more than 9 million views on YouTube and sparked debates about euthanasia, which is legal in Oregon.
In a Daily Signal story published earlier this month, I wrote:
It’s not surprising that euthanasia advocates have embraced the phrase “death with dignity.” It’s powerful. It’s evocative.
Because death is very rarely dignified. It’s painful and it’s sordid. It’s often in a sterilized, cold hospital room, or a nursing home facility, with machines beeping in the background and strangers everywhere. There may or may not be last words, or even consciousness at the end, depending on the patient’s state.
And the pain can be searing, incredible, horrific.
All of this is true—and none of it makes euthanasia a good choice.
Because human life is valuable. There are no qualifications. It’s not just valuable when someone is healthy, or as long as someone has all his or her mental faculties.
It’s valuable always.
No matter what.