Governor Jerry Brown signed a legislation Oct. 5 allowing terminally ill patients to receive life-ending medication to put them out of their pain.
The law allows doctors to prescribe medication to patients who have six months or fewer to live, and requires consent from two doctors and written permission from the patient.
Brittany Maynard brought news to the “right to die bill” when she moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon in 2014, upon learning that she had terminal brain cancer. Oregon was one of five states (the others are Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico) that authorized death with dignity.
“Brittany recognized it is unfair that the vast majority of people cannot access death with dignity because they do not have the resources and time to uproot their family, seek appropriate medical care and establish a support system in a different state,” stated a website started in Brittany’s honor, thebrittanyfund.org.
She approached Compassion & Choices, an end-of-life choice advocacy organization, and asked what she can do to spread awareness.
“Brittany Maynard’s voice and her story did more than she could have known to advance end-of-life options and aid in dying across the country,” the website said. “It is a legacy to be proud of.”
Gov. Brown is known to be a Catholic, and at one time had religious reservations against signing the bill.
“In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death,” he said in a statement. “I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. I am certain, however, that it would a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill.”
The right-to-die movement has existed for decades, but gained momentum when Brittany, who was a 29-year-old newlywed, moved to Oregon to die. Now, half of all U.S. states have introduced a right-to-die legislation.