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Death With Dignity or Assisted Suicide? Oregon Opens Debate

| October 9, 2014 Comment

Death With Dignity or Assisted Suicide? Oregon Opens Debate – Terminally ill Brittany Maynard plans to end her life under Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. The practice is legal in only 5 states.

Brittany Maynard knows exactly when, where, and how she’s going to die. She has stage 4 glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor. People first reported on the 29-year-old Maynard, who after being diagnosed with the terminal brain tumor, decided to end her own life.

Supportes call the practice, “death with dignity”. It’s only legal in 5 states in the US, which is why Maynard and her husband moved from California to Oregon. Under the state’s 1997 Death with Dignity Act, a person is allowed to end his or her life through self-administered lethal medication provided that person is 18 years or older, a resident of Orgeon, and capable of making and communicating healthcare decisions for himself or herself, and has been diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months.

By creating the Brittany Maynard Fund, Maynard hopes her case will help make the practice accessible in more states. But is is a controversial issue causing a lot of debate. But here is what makes Oregon different from other famous cases of “assisted suicide” in other states – it’s the requirement of “self-administration”.

By contrast, before Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second degree homicide, he himself administered lethal injections after being given fully informed consent by his patients.

There are no legal hurdles for Maynard herself. She has planned her death for November 1, 2014, just 6 days after her husband’s birthday. She plan to record a video testimony for California lawmakers before then.

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