Monday, November 3, 2014

Young woman with terminal brain cancer commits suicide

Brittany Maynard, 29, ends life under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act
Brittany Maynard. (Wikimedia Commons)
Newlywed Brittany Maynard, who gained international attention when she announced she would end her life before brain cancer did, died after taking a legal overdose Nov. 1.

Days before her suicide, Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland wrote a letter urging Maynard and others like her not to take life into their own hands.

"We are with you. As friends, families and neighbours we pledge to surround you with our love and compassion until the sacred moment when God calls you home," he wrote.

"Killing oneself eliminates the freedom enjoyed in earthly life. True autonomy and true freedom come only when we accept death as a force beyond our control."

A 30-year-old seminarian with terminal brain cancer also wrote Maynard an open letter. Read more from the Catholic Register.

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