Vatican condemns assisted suicide case

VATICAN CITY – “This was not a dignified death,” said the Vatican on Tuesday of the case of Brittany Maynard, whose death sparked a global debate on euthanasia.

  The video which Britanny, a 29-year-old American, released in October to announce her decision to end her life on Nov. 1 has been viewed on youtube more than ten million times.

 Suffering from a terminal brain tumour, Maynard chose to move to Oregon from her home in California, because of the laws allowing the assisted suicide of terminally ill patients in that state.

 The President of the Papal Academy for Life, Carrasco de Paula, said in a statement, “dignity is a different thing from ending your own life. We do not judge people but the act itself should be condemned.”

  In a final video released on Saturday, Maynard said, “Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer has taken so much from me … but would have taken so much more.”

  Pro-Euthanasia group Compassion Choices announced Brittany’s death on Saturday. President Barbara Lee Coombs said, “Brittany is dead but her love for life and nature, her passion and her spirit continue to live.”