The right to die

I suppose most of America has now heard of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old woman who was suffering from incurable brain cancer which promised to make her life a living hell. Hearing that doomsday diagnosis and that she had only six months to live, she opted to move to Oregon. Oregon is a state that legally allows doctors to prescribe lethal medication for those who don't want to fight a battle they can't win and cause undue pain and suffering to themselves, family and friends in the process.

A senior Vatican official, Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, condemned her decision to die on her own terms as wicked, saying "We do not judge the individual but the act itself is to be condemned. This woman did this thinking she could die with dignity. But this is where the error lies: to commit suicide is not a good thing, it is a wicked thing because it is saying no both to one's own life and to everything which signifies respect for our mission in this world and towards those closest to us." (msn.com news)

Well, that's one guy's opinion so now I'll offer mine. Nobody escapes this life. We all want to but nobody does. We spend our whole lives pretending that we're immortal and that death is something that happens to someone else, all the while knowing that's a falsehood that we just can't face. Even those with tremendous religious faith don't want to die because despite what it says in religious teachings around the world, we're still not sure. We were nothing before we were born and the prospect of being nothing after we die is something incomprehensible to us.

I watched my dad die of cancer, one day at a time for over a year, getting worse day by day, losing his ability to walk and then talk and then even to think before he lapsed into a coma. My son, Will, watched his father-in-law go through the same horrible process and we both agreed it was the worst thing we had ever seen.

So, should the church be weighing in on this woman's personal decision and going viral with their condemnation of her actions? I don't think it's the Christian thing to do (judge not lest ye be judged I think the Bible tells us) but they certainly have a right to issue statements that support their long-held perspectives, even if those perspectives are perceived by many to be wrong.

But Brittany had that right too. From all the reports I've read, she was a beautiful, vibrant, involved young woman who loved life, only to discover that she wasn't going to get to have the full life she wanted and expected and the longevity most of us DO have. She was also told that the type of brain cancer she had was particularly nefarious; it would attack her quickly and painfully and render her someone she never wanted to be.

So she decided to move to Oregon, partner up with a nonprofit organization called Compassion and Choices, and spread her message to the world. She did this through 2 videos that went viral and significantly increased the "hits" that organization was receiving on their website along with a hefty increase in phone calls. She chose November 1st as the day she would die.

She had not been feeling too bad in the weeks leading up to November 1st and, in fact, had talked publicly about delaying her death because of that. But then soon after, she had a debilitating attack that in addition to being incredibly painful, also caused her to lose her ability to speak for a few days and that cemented the decision in her mind.

Before she died on the day she had chosen, she said this:

"I will die upstairs in my bedroom with my husband, mother, step-father, and best friend by my side and pass peacefully into whatever's next."

Shouldn't that be an option for everyone?