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Brittany Maynard Slams Doctor's Remarks on Her Decision to Die

Brittany Maynard says a top palliative care doctor’s remarks about her are “disrespectful and disturbing.”
Brittany Maynard in 2013. Maynard who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, has chosen to end her life with doctor-assisted suicide.
Brittany Maynard in 2013. Maynard who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, has chosen to end her life with doctor-assisted suicide. Compassion & Choices - www.TheBrittanyFund.org

Brittany Maynard says a top palliative care doctor’s remarks about her are “disrespectful and disturbing.” Maynard — planning to end her life Nov. 1 with lethal drugs before brain cancer kills her — posted comments Tuesday night on radio host Diane Rehm's website.

Dr. Ira Byock, of the Providence Institute for Human Caring, asserted earlier that Maynard is “being exploited” by a nonprofit advocating for death-with-dignity laws. “Perhaps most disturbingly, Byock claimed that Compassion & Choices had somehow taken advantage of me through ‘exploitation’ and that I feel compelled to die now based on public expectations,” Maynard wrote. “I DO NOT, this is MY choice, I am not that weak. The day is my choice, I have the right to change my mind at any time, it is my right. I am very confident about this. This is a patient right that is critical to understanding Death with Dignity.”

Asked Thursday by Rehm to respond, Byock said: “It’s personally hard for me to hear that I’ve caused this young woman more distress … One of the things I disagree with is that Brittany Maynard has just said again that she thinks it’s her personal choice. But you know, physician-assisted suicide is not a personal act, it’s a social act. Physicians aren’t personal. We are trained by society … So when a physician writes a lethal prescription, it’s a social act.”

IN-DEPTH

SOCIAL

— Bill Briggs