Assisted Suicide Debated on Social Media: Margaret Canady 2nd Period

   Mourners and critics took to social media after Brittany Maynard, a 29 year old woman suffering from brain cancer, took her life this past Saturday. Maynard was an advocate for "death with dignity", or having the choice of assisted suicide in the face debilitating or unrecoverable medical conditions.

   Supporters of Maynard and the assisted suicide movement showed their support through social media, saying things such as "Happy to see that Brittany Maynard ended her journey in the dignified way she'd hoped to", and "she shed light on an issue that leaves America thinking."

   Opponents of assisted suicide were equally vocal, and showed their disapproval for the suicide. Maggie Karner, a woman with the same brain cancer as Maynard, says that losing faith in God would be worse than letting cancer control her life. Many opponents cite religious reasons for being against assisted suicide.

  The assisted suicide movement has gained attention in recent years. Many people in society are uncomfortable with supporting the movement because they feel like it's supporting death, and encouraging a nullification of one of the basic, fundamental rights: life. But I think we have to be aware of what has to be going on in someone's life if they believe suicide is the only option left. Maynard must have been in extreme emotional and physical pain, and I don't think outsiders can judge her actions if they don't know what she is going through. And ultimately, what position are we in as a society to tell an individual what they can and cannot do? Doesn't that step on their rights as American citizens?

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/03/us/brittany-maynard-suicide-folo/index.html?hpt=us_c1