An Analysis Of Brittany Maynard's Death

If you knew you were going to die, would you want to live your final days in pain and humiliation? Brittany Maynard was 29 years old when she was diagnosed with brain cancer. She went through many surgeries to try and rid herself of her brain tumor; until she learned that not only was it back, but also it was far more aggressive then before. It was then that Brittany was told she only had six months to live and was prescribed full brain radiation in attempt to keep her alive as long as possible. The full brain radiation would inevitably destroy Brittany’s quality of life. Instead of facing the painful treatments, Brittany contemplated moving to a hospice to live out her final days; but soon realized that unlike her brain, the rest of her body …show more content…
Terminal illnesses rarely end peacefully and painlessly. The treatments for diseases such as cancer can leave the recipient sick and weak, often times accompanied by chronic pain. There is also the possibility of “opiate resistant pain” meaning that there is virtually no way to treat their pain with medication. Consumerreports.com states in a 2010 survey, that 1,000 people taking opiates for chronic or long-term pain reported having moderate to severe pain. This means that most of the medications prescribed for pain would become useless against the pain faced by a terminally ill patient. Many terminally ill patients also begin to lose organ function towards the end of their life, meaning in order to keep living; they need the assistance of machines and tubes, greatly destroying any quality of …show more content…
People believe that people are often in the wrong state of mind to make such decisions at the end of their life. Not just anyone can request a life ending prescription; certain criteria must be met in order to receive physician-assisted suicide. In states already enacting the death with dignity laws, two licensed physicians must determine that you are mentally competent and have a terminal illness that will result in death in six months or less. You also must be 18 years old and self-administer the prescription. (deathwithdignity.org).
Other people in opposition to physician assisted suicide see potential religious or moral conflict with the program. Stating that is against certain religious believes to commit suicide, and that it is against a doctor’s code to assist someone in dying. The process of physician-assisted suicide is completely voluntary on both the doctor’s and the patient’s behalf, meaning if it is against a certain code or religion, they under no circumstances have to participate. But, a survey done in the UK in 2010, 78% of those who attended a place of worship at least once a month supported assisted dying