--- description: "I refuse to subject myself and my family to purposeless, prolonged pain and suffering at the hands of an incurable disease.” title: Watch Brittany Maynard's Video in Support of Right-to-Die Legislation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Law](/tag/law/) ## Law Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Brittany Maynard's Video in Support of Right-to-Die Legislation  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Mar 25, 2015 11:42 PM CUT  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Mar 25, 2015 11:42 PM CUT Brittany Maynard’s family has [released](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi8AP%5FEhM94 "undefined") a video of her testimony for a right-to-die bill, currently being considered in California, almost four months after her death. Advocates presented the video to the California legislature Wednesday ahead of a state Senate committee vote on the issue. Maynard was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2014\. The 29-year-old moved to Oregon, where she had the legal right to end her own life. California and New York are considering joining the handful of states where it is legal for terminal patients to obtain a prescription that will allow them to die in their sleep. Though two such death with dignity bills have failed in the state before, Maynard’s case has brought new attention to the controversial issue. MORE: [More States Considering Right-to-Die Laws After Brittany Maynard](http://time.com/3678199/brittany-maynard-death-with-dignity-legislation-california/ "undefined") “I am heartbroken that I had to leave behind my home, my community, and my friends in California, but I am dying and I refuse to lose my dignity,” she says in the video, filmed weeks before her death on Nov. 1\. “I refuse to subject myself and my family to purposeless, prolonged pain and suffering at the hands of an incurable disease.” But others [testified](http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article16295804.html "undefined") that such a law could be dangerous. “Where assisted suicide is legal, some people’s lives will be ended without their consent through mistakes and abuse,” said Marilyn Golden, a senior policy analyst with the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, according to the Sacramento _Bee_. _Read next:_ [_See Which States Allow End-of-Life Treatment_](http://time.com/3551560/brittany-maynard-right-to-die-laws/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3759208/brittany-maynard-right-to-die-video-california/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3759208/brittany-maynard-right-to-die-video-california/"},"headline":"Watch Brittany Maynard's Video in Support of Right-to-Die Legislation","datePublished":"2015-03-25T23:42:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:27:00.046Z","description":"Maynard was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2014","url":"https://time.com/3759208/brittany-maynard-right-to-die-video-california/","keywords":["Law"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/law/","name":"Law"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3759208/brittany-maynard-right-to-die-video-california/","name":"Watch Brittany Maynard's Video in Support of Right-to-Die Legislation"}}]}] ```