A little more than two weeks after Brittany Maynard chose to end her life on her own terms, her mother has stepped up to fight back against those who have criticized her decision. Debbie Ziegler is especially responding to the Vatican's calling her daughter's decision to take her own life, "reprehensible".
Maynard, who had terminal brain cancer, first garnered national attention back in early October, when she teamed up with Compassion & Choices, an organization aimed at helping to educate people about Death With Dignity laws. Maynard and her husband had moved from California to Oregon so that she could choose to die in a peaceful setting rather than waiting for her disease to finally take her. Oregon is one of only a handful of states that allows doctor-assisted suicide in the case of terminal illness. Maynard's story resonated because she was not suicidal, but was dying. She wanted people to understand the difference and to at least rethink the notion of the right to die with dignity.
For a moment it looked like Maynard might decide to hold on a bit longer, but on Nov. 2 it was confirmed that she had died, on her own terms. Today, Ziegler came out eloquently swinging at those who had judged her daughter, saying:
I am Brittany Maynard's mother. I am writing in response to a variety of comments made in the press and online by individuals and institutions that have tried to impose their personal belief system on what Brittany and our family feel is a human rights issue.
The imposition of "belief" on a human rights issue is wrong. To censure a personal choice as reprehensible because it does not comply with someone else's belief is immoral. My twenty-nine-year-old daughter's choice to die gently rather than suffer physical and mental degradation and intense pain does not deserve to be labeled as reprehensible by strangers a continent away who do not know her or the particulars of her situation.
Reprehensible is a harsh word. It means: "very bad; deserving very strong criticism." Reprehensible is a word I've used as a teacher to describe the actions of Hitler, other political tyrants and the exploitation of children by pedophiles. As Brittany Maynard's mother, I find it difficult to believe that anyone who knew her would ever select this word to describe her actions. Brittany was a giver. She was a volunteer. She was a teacher. She was an advocate. She worked at making the world a better place to live.
This word was used publicly at a time when my family was tender and freshly wounded. Grieving. 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.
It's very clear where Maynard's ability to speak came from, as her mother is also able to use her words as a beautiful weapon against those who choose to judge. Having a terminal illness is one of those situations where we thing we know what choices we might make — until we actually find ourselves facing it. Then reality has a way of changing people's minds. Do you think that the Death With Dignity Act should be passed and legal in every state? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
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