Husband of Brittany Maynard: Let’s make medical aid in dying permanent | Opinion
Ten years ago, my wife, Brittany Maynard, and I moved to Oregon so she could ensure a gentle death. At age 29, Brittany qualified for a medication prescribed by a physician that allowed her to die without pain, instead of enduring the ongoing suffering caused by an aggressive brain tumor that would have tortured her to death.
Brittany died on Nov. 1, 2014. She would be 40 years old now.
Brittany’s case received significant attention because, at that time, we had to leave our home in California and move to Oregon so she could access their Death With Dignity Act.
Although the grief of living without her weighs on my heart, not a single day passes without me honoring the promise I made to her before she took her last breath: To help pass a medical aid in dying law in California and other states across the country, so that no one else would have to leave their home as we did.
Now, 10 years later, the End of Life Option Act remains a compassionate option that allows terminally ill but mentally competent California adults with six months or less to live the option to request a prescription for medication that they could decide to take to die peacefully. This law provides comfort to many dying Californians who fear a painful death, even if they ultimately do not use the law.
The California End of Life Option Act has been working as intended, and utilization reports show that medical aid in dying is being safely practiced in California.
The latest report shows that, in 2023, 1,281 terminally ill Californians obtained prescriptions for medical aid in dying and 884 patients (69%) took the medication in 2023. The aid in dying medication was prescribed by 337 unique physicians.
The underlying illnesses of the individuals who utilized medical aid in dying were: Cancer (63.8%), cardiovascular-related (12.1%), neurological diseases (8.8%) and respiratory diseases (8%). Other causes accounted for 7.2%. The report states that 93.8% of these individuals were receiving hospice or palliative care at the time of their decision.
Aside from California, no other authorized jurisdiction with a medical aid-in-dying law has a sunset provision. Removing the sunset provides peace of mind to terminally-ill Californians and aligns the End of Life Option Act with other laws across the country.
Fortunately, California legislators are currently considering Senate Bill 403, authored by Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, that would make the End of Life Option Act permanent in California by removing the sunset provision.
We are proud to partner with the senator to make the End of Life Option Act permanent. The bill does not alter the existing law in any way, it simply removes the sunset provision so that Californians can be secure in their ability to access the law in the future, should they need it.
I witnessed this law firsthand, with all the rigid safeguards and protections in place: Ten years ago, I stood alongside dying Californians who used their final days to fight for the passage of the End of Life Option Act, fully aware they would not live long enough to benefit from it themselves.
When Brittany died, only four states authorized this compassionate end of life option. Today, 11 states and the District of Columbia have authorized medical aid in dying. Today, in honor of my wife and on behalf of Californians who are dying, I urge legislators to support SB 403 and make this compassionate law permanent so no other Californian will have to leave our state to die peacefully.
This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Husband of Brittany Maynard: Let’s make medical aid in dying permanent | Opinion."