Brittany Maynard Ends Own Life

29-year-old thanks 'death with dignity' supporters
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 2, 2014 9:31 PM CST
Updated Nov 3, 2014 7:55 AM CST
Brittany Maynard Ends Own Life
This photo provided by the Maynard family shows Brittany Maynard.   (AP Photo/Maynard Family, File)

Brittany Maynard decided to die on Saturday after all. "Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me … but would have taken so much more," the 29-year-old wrote in a final Facebook post. Advocacy group Compassion & Choices says Maynard "passed peacefully in her bed surrounded by close family and loved ones" at her home in Oregon, People reports. Last week, Maynard released a video saying she might not stick to her chosen date, depending on her symptoms, but she had recently suffered a "terrifying set of seizures."

Maynard—who completed her bucket list with a visit to the Grand Canyon last month—became a prominent spokeswoman for "death with dignity" after she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor earlier this year and was told it would be a "terrible, terrible way to die," reports CNN. "For people to argue against this choice for sick people really seems evil to me," she told People. "They try to mix it up with suicide and that's really unfair, because there's not a single part of me that wants to die. But I am dying." In her final message, she thanked all her supporters. "It is people who pause to appreciate life and give thanks who are happiest," she wrote. "If we change our thoughts, we change our world! Love and peace to you all." (More Oregon stories.)

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