On January 1st of this year, Brittany Maynard was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, specifically Glioblastoma multiforme. As soon as she was told, she decided to live each day to the fullest and get as much joy out of life as possible. Though doctors told her “she probably didn’t even have weeks to be on her feet,” Maynard kept on moving, staying as active as possible. She even ended up traveling to places such as the Grand Canyon, Alaska, British Columbia, the Yellowstone National Park and Washington. The 29 year old Maynard crossed items off of her “bucket list” as she traveled with family and friends.

In June of this year, Maynard and her family uprooted their lives in California, and moved to Oregon where Death with Dignity is legal. Maynard got to pick out a perfect little yellow house in Portland in which to live out the rest of her days surrounded by friends and family. When she started an online video campaign on October 6th with Compassion & Choices, a group which advocates the Death with Dignity Act, she caught the attention of the media, and millions of people were inspired by her strength and bravery. Along with the supporters came people who criticized Maynard and her decision. Despite the critics, she stuck with her initial plan and ended her life on November 1st. She left some of her final thoughts on her Facebook page:

“Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. 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 world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers. I even have a ring of support around my bed as I type … Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!”

America is now caught in a pretty heavy debate of whether or not the Death with Dignity Act should be legal in all 50 states. Many factors are involved such as religion, financial advantages, violation of morals and so on. Almost everyone is chiming in on this debate, the Vatican even called Maynard’s decision “reprehensible.” Only time will tell where this discussion will go.

FSA Connection Questions

1. In the article the word reprehensible means what?
2. The author seems to offer what main idea?
3. Select the two sentences that best support the main idea.
4. Select the sentence that best summarizes the work.
5. What is the purpose of including a quotation in the article?