Twenty-nine-year-old Brittany Maynard followed through on her intent to end her life on Saturday, taking lethal drugs prescribed by her physician and dying surrounded by her family and loved ones. Maynard was diagnosed with a stage 4 malignant brain tumor earlier this year.
Religion and culture expert Dr. Alex McFarland says he mourns Maynard’s death, and his thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones today and in the coming days. But he doesn’t agree with her decision.
“In no way do I want to minimize the compassion and love and empathy that are due to Brittany’s family on her passing, as this is truly a heartbreaking time. As a minister, I believe life truly is a gift from God, and it is God Who owns our lives. While many are applauding the movement of ‘death with dignity,’ I would encourage our society not to become too comfortable with the idea of life belonging to us, and I would be very saddened if our nation became too comfortable seeing assisted suicide as an easy answer to a complex problem.
“Throughout history, some of the greatest valor, heroism and humanity in its finest have come about when people have been in situations that initially seem intolerable. The highest dignity is to trust God and seek God’s strength in the deepest of valleys.”
