Brittany Maynard's death not expected to galvanize end-of-life movement
The death of Brittany Maynard has renewed attention on physician-assisted suicide, but medical ethicists and political activists said Monday that significant legal change would probably take much more time to evolve.
Maynard, who had brain cancer, chose to end her life Saturday as she had promised about a month earlier, when she and her husband moved from Northern California to Portland, Ore., where physician-assisted suicide is legal.
Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico are the other states that allow terminal patients to seek medical help to die.
Maynard's decision to end her life sparked a flurry of publicity, but legalizing physician-assisted suicide in more states is expected to be a difficult process, said bioethicist Arthur Caplan of New York University Langone Medical Center.
"I think the debate will likely get a nudge from Brittany Maynard's decision to go public, but I'm not sure it will get a huge push," Caplan said.
"It's not because she wasn't effective and not because she didn't generate tremendous empathy," he said. "The group she is engaging is notoriously difficult to get focused on end-of-life issues."
Maynard's case seemed to resonate with a younger audience. She would have turned 30 on Nov. 19.
Perhaps the most immediate effect of Maynard's death will come in California, which Maynard had to leave to find help.
Efforts to legalize physician-assisted suicide through legislation have failed before, said Charmaine Manansala, California political and field director for Compassion & Choices.
"We have seen increased interest in the issue," she said. But it is too soon to know whether the group will again seek legislative action or will go the referendum route, Manansala said.
Maynard was diagnosed with brain cancer Jan. 1, and doctors predicted she had months to live. In her final days, she visited Yellowstone National Park and Alaska, and her last trip was to the Grand Canyon with her husband.
"The world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers," she wrote in a Facebook post shortly before she died.
Article Source: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-brittany-maynard-20141104-story.html?track=rss
Image Source: http://www.trbimg.com/img-5458555b/turbine/la-apphoto-death-with-dignity-jpg-20141103/750/750x422
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Galvanize (v.) ~ to stimulate
2. Renew (v.) ~ to revive or reestablish
3. Ethicist (n.) ~ a person who is devoted to ethical principles
4. Activist (n.) ~ an especially active to a cause
5. Terminal (adj.) ~ causing, ending, or approaching death
6. Flurry (n.) ~ sudden commotion, excitement, or confusion
7. Nudge (v.) ~ to push slightly or gently
8. Generate (v.) ~ to bring into existence
9. Resonate (v.) ~ to be understood or receive a sympathetic response
10. Diagnose (v.) ~ to determine the identity of a disease by a medical examination
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
1. Why did Brittany Maynard decide to die through a physician-assisted suicide?
2. When was she diagnosed of with brain cancer? According to the doctors, how long did she have to live?
3. Do you think many people sympathized with her death?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What is your opinion on physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia?
2. Do you think that a person who was diagnosed with a terminal illness has the right to choose how to die?
