Brittany Maynard, Creative Commons photo
The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.
"I don't wake up every day and look at it." Brittany Maynard said with a laugh. "It's in a safe spot, and I know that it's there when I need it."
Maynard is referring to pills she is in possession of that will allow her to take her own life when she chooses the time that she is ready. These pills were provided to her legally through her doctor in Oregon, thanks to the state's "Death with Dignity" law.
Death with Dignity is a growing movement across the country that implores states to implement laws that give terminally ill patients the right to have access to medication that can end their life. Currently, only Oregon, Washington and Vermont have laws that allow this.
The law requires that a person must be 18 years or older, a resident of one of the previously mentioned states, capable of communicating health decisions and diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death.
We at The Miami Student think these laws are important and necessary, and should become more widely available than just three states. Death with Dignity gives people a choice on how and when they wish to end their life, which is a sense of control that people with terminal illness rarely have.
Additionally, the editorial board notes the safety and regulation that comes with laws such as these. For someone without access to a Death with Dignity law, suicide is still an option. However, these laws provide a safe means of ending one's life with medical supervision rather than someone having to go "under the table" or choose unsafe methods to end suffering.
We do see problems with these laws as well. First and foremost, the requirement that someone must be capable of communicating health decisions raises some questions. When is someone determined to be capable, or not capable, of making decisions? Especially with degenerative illnesses like Alzheimer's, this seems to be a clause that could cause a lot of legal problems.
Should patients be allowed to grant someone, such as a spouse, parent or child, the right to make a Death with Dignity decision for them? That would seem to be a solution, but as we saw with the legal struggle surrounding Terri Schiavo and life support that lasted fifteen years, this could still cause problems.
Another issue is the requirement that someone be 18 years of age or older. If a minor was diagnosed with a terminal illness, do they not have the right to end their life without pain? This also leads back to the question of whether or not someone else, like a parent or guardian, would be allowed to make this type of decision for their child.
We at The Miami Student believe that everyone has the right to choose how they want to die, whether it be naturally or with the help of Death with Dignity medication. Terminally ill patients, such as Brittany Maynard, did not choose their situation. They did not ask to become terminally ill, or to be told that their death would be painful. People like Maynard seldom have any options or control over what is happening to them, but Death with Dignity can change that.
The peace that comes with knowing when you will die, and ensuring that death will come calmly and surrounded by loved ones, is something that everyone deserves to have.
"I can't even tell you the amount of relief it provides me to know that I don't have to die the way that it's been described to me that my brain tumor would take me on its own," Maynard said.