Denver Catholic

BY JULIE FILBY On New Year's Day, Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old woman in San Francisco, learned she had brain cancer. The newly- wed, hoping for a family, im- mediately had two surgeries to try and stop the tumor. But by April, her doctors determined the cancer was too aggressive to treat and gave her a prognosis of six months to live. Maynard made headlines earlier this month when she publicly announced plans to take her own life when she feels the time is right. She said she will do so by swallowing a pill, prescribed by her doctor, and in her possession. "I do not want to die. But I am dying," she wrote for CNN Oct. 7. "And I want to die on my own terms." Initially considering hospice care, she said, ultimately she decided to relocate to Oregon, one of five states where physi- cian-assisted suicide is legal. "Because the rest of my body is young and healthy, I am like- ly to physically hang on for a long time ... I probably would have suffered in hospice care for weeks or even months," she wrote. "And my family would have had to watch that." If she changes her mind, she said, she will not take the medication. "Having this choice… has giv- en me a sense of peace during a tumultuous time that otherwise would be dominated by fear, uncertainty and pain." Maynard's story has initiat- ed a widespread conversation about assisted suicide. A vid- eo she made for Compassion and Choices, an advocate for physician-assisted suicide, has been viewed more than 6 mil- lion times. Many have respond- ed with messages of concern, prayers and pleas to not take her life, including a Colorado Springs mother of four young children, Kara Tippetts, also suffering with incurable brain cancer. "We see you, we see your life, and there are countless lovers of your heart that are praying you would change your mind," Tippetts, 36, wrote in a letter to Maynard Oct. 8 that has been shared on social media more than a million times. Tippetts, a member of West- side Church where her husband is pastor, also expressed her sympathy and understanding in being asked to "walk a road that feels simply impossible to walk," and thanked Maynard for bringing the discussion to light. "Brittany, your life matters, your story matters, and your suffering matters," she wrote. "I think the telling of your story is important." If choosing her own death, Tippetts continued, she would rob herself and her loved ones of the opportunity to care for her. "That last kiss, that last warm touch, that last breath matters," she said, "but it was never in- tended for us to decide when that last breath is breathed." A seminarian in the Diocese of Raleigh, N.C., Philip Johnson, also suffering from untreatable brain cancer wrote to Maynard, where he shared his related feelings of fear and at times, hopelessness. "Like Brittany, I do not want to die, nor do I want to suffer the likely outcome of this disease," he wrote in an Oct. 22 letter. "This terrifies me, but it does not make me less of a person. My life means something to me, to God, and to my family and friends, and barring a miracu- lous recovery, it will continue to mean something long after I am paralyzed in a hospice bed." Johnson was diagnosed in 2008 at age 24 while serving his INDEX Archbishop's Column ......................2 The Catholic Difference ..................4 Letters to the Editor .......................4 Vatican News .................................... 7 Bulletin Board ..................................13 Crossword/Word Search ...............13 Nun of the Above quiz .................. 14 Service Directory ...................... 14-15 Reaching out to Brittany PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEN LINTS PHOTOGRAPHY KARA TIPPETTS, a Colorado Springs wife and mother of four young children, is suffering with in- curable brain cancer. She is one of many people reaching out to Brittany Maynard with a message of love and concern, and a plea not to take her life through physician-assisted suicide. OCTOBER 29, 2014 114 Years of Service to the Gospel Volume XC - No. 37 www.DenverCatholicRegister.org I Follow us on INSIDE RESPECT LIFE PAGE 2 PAGE 3 PAGE 6 Poisonous 'right to die' movement targets Colorado Catholics for Choice ads riddled with inaccuracies, bishops say Conference tells faithful how to pick the right weapon for battle CATHOLIC SCHOOLS PAGES 8-9 Around the Archdiocese: Catholic schools How to be a champion on and off the field See Brittany, Page 3

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