--- title: Brittany Maynard: Death With Dignity, Oregon Right to Die Law description: The story behind Oregon's controversial Death With Dignity Act canonical: https://time.com/3481599/brittany-maynard-death-with-dignity-oregon-right-to-die-law/ author: Belinda Luscombe article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-08T19:21:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:23.463Z og:title: Brittany Maynard: Death With Dignity, Oregon Right to Die Law og:description: The story behind Oregon's controversial Death With Dignity Act og:url: https://time.com/3481599/brittany-maynard-death-with-dignity-oregon-right-to-die-law/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Brittany Maynard: Death With Dignity, Oregon Right to Die Law twitter:description: The story behind Oregon's controversial Death With Dignity Act twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Why a Young Woman with Brain Cancer Moved to Oregon to Die > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=a18001b3-06d4-4857-b53a-2cabd80241a2&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Brittany Maynard Fund [Watch (HLS stream): The Brittany Maynard Fund](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4iRaoVE0.m3u8) (6:30)  _Published 2014-10-08. The Brittany Maynard Fund_  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Oct 8, 2014 7:21 PM UTC  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Oct 8, 2014 7:21 PM UTC A 29-year-old woman with terminal brain cancer has moved to Oregon to be able to legally take her own life when she’s ready. Brittany Maynard has made a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPfe3rCcUeQ) explaining her plight and promoting what’s called the “death with dignity” movement. Diagnosed with a rapidly growing brain tumor, Maynard says she faces a debilitating, painful and certain death. Hence, she decided to forego additional radiation treatments and take advantage of laws in Oregon that would allow her to choose the time and circumstances of her death. Oregon has been a pioneer in allowing doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of anesthetics for people who have incurable diseases and would like to take charge of when they go, but the legislation is not without controversy. The Death With Dignity Act was passed in 1994\. It allows doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of painkillers to patients who request it in writing. The patients can’t just be anyone however; two doctors have to certify that they are likely to be dead in six months. They have to be deemed to be mentally healthy and not depressed, or at least not suffering from more than the regular, to-be-expected sadness about dying. They have to be residents of Oregon and two people have to witness the writing of the request, at least one of whom cannot be a beneficiary of their estate. If all these criteria are met, and the mandatory 15-day waiting time has passed, a doctor is legally allowed to write a prescription, which the patient then fills and takes the medication whenever he or she sees fit. Opponents of the legislation argue that once the drugs are in the house, there’s little oversight. If the patient changes his or her mind, but then becomes debilitated, there’s not much technically to stop a relative or carer giving them the drugs anyway. Some medical practitioners, including the Royal College of Surgeons, argue that it’s always wrong for a doctor to deliberately cause death, no matter how much thought has gone into the decision. One of the 700-plus Oregonians who have availed themselves of this exit plan was Dr. Peter Goodwin, who was instrumental in helping to write the legislation and push for its passage. He issued three such prescriptions for terminally patients after the legislation passed and admitted to writing at least one before it was legal. In [an emotional video interview with Time in March 2012](http://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,1508062184001%5F2109075,00.html), he explained the difference between suicide and doctor-assisted death: “If you think of a typical suicide, it’s impulsive, it’s often violent, and it’s almost always in seclusion. This is a process done with the support of the family, after a great deal of consideration. And it’s a gentle death.” By the time the [interview](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2109134,00.html) appeared in the magazine a few days later, he was already dead. ## Transcript The thoughts that go through your mind when you find out you have so little time is everything that you need to say to everyone that you love. [ MUSIC ] So after getting married is when I first started experiencing the headaches and they were quite sever. And I didn't understand them because I'd never had any thing like that before in my life. Right when I was diagnosed my husband and I were actively trying for a family. Which is. Is heartbreaking for us both. And then I was diagnosed this past New Year's. We went away to the wine country for kind of a New Year's Eve celebration. And by Jan 1, the following day, I was diagnosed with cancer. And told I was terminally ill. [ MUSIC ] I was told I had a grade two astrocytoma and was told anywhere from three maybe five, up to ten years to live. I have to tell you when you're 29 years old. Being told you have that kind of timeline still feels like you're being told you're gonna die tomorrow. 70 days post- op I went in for another MRI and was told I had had a grade change. They were looking and saying it looks like grade four. Which is the worst and most aggressive form of brain cancer. It's called a glioblastoma. So that was a major shock to my system and the system of my family. Because it went from having potentially years of time to being told I had like six months. My parents spent a couple months. They just wanted to search for a miracle. In the beginning I hoped [ MUSIC ] For everything. I hoped, first I hoped that they have just the wrong X- rays. The wrong set of scans. It was all just a big clerical mishap. Your brain will do really strange things to you when you don't want to believe something. You will come up with fairy tales. I don't wake up every day and look at it. [ LAUGH ] It's in a safe spot. And I know that it's there when I need it. I plan to be surrounded by my immediate family. Which is my husband and my mother and my step father. And my best friend, who's also a physician. And probably not much more people. And I will die upstairs in my bedroom that I share with my husband. With my mother and my husband by my side and pass peacefully with some music that I like in the background. Between, you know, suffering or being allowed to decide when enough is enough just to me makes it, it provides a lot of relief and, and comfort that okay, that option is there. If and when we decide and, or she decides that, you know, it's time. I can't even tell you the amount of relief that 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. Death with dignity allows for people who are. In the, predicament of facing a lot of suffering, that they can decide when enough is enough. Brittany's always been, kind of, bigger than life. She, she's kind of a wanderlust. And she's always liked exciting things, adrenalin rush. She's liked t, traveling. She's she's always been precocious and very, very bright. And anything she set her mind to she did. Since becoming ill, I have traveled and continued. My husband and I. I took a beautiful trip to Yellowstone. It was exquisite. And, then, I went with my best friend to Alaska and we went to Denali National Park, and we went to, Seward and Kenai Fjords and kayaked up to the glaciers and then I met my mother. In Juneau, and we took this spectacular boat trip. Before I pass I'm hoping to make it to the Grand Canyon, cuz I've never been. And that's all I can do is set little goals like that and I, all those things make every day worthwhile. My hope now is that my daughter can. Live her life the way she wants to. That she can make the decisions that she wants to. That she can be who she is. Which is this very autonomous, bright well- read, well- traveled person who loves adventure. She's kind of got me into this thing where now we've agreed to meet. And So I'm gonna go on a traveling adventure. And she's this place I, I'm kind of scared to go to Machu Picchu, lot of climbing and but she said she'd meet me there. And so damn it I'll go. I hope to enjoy however many days I have left on this beautiful earth and spend as much of it outside as I can. Surrounded by those I love. I hope to pass in peace. The reason to consider life and what's of value is to make sure you're not missing out. Cease the day. What's important to you? What do you care about? What matters? Pursue that, forget the rest. 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