We told Brittany Maynard that it was okay to Kill Herself, and She did.

When it comes to the Brittany Maynard situation, I can’t keep quiet much longer. I have sat back and watched her receive endless support. I have sat back and watched her be called brave, and courageous. I have sat back and shut my mouth, but I just can’t do it anymore. I am appalled by the reactions and the reporting surrounding this case.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone got their choice to die with dignity? Not everyone has the “pleasure” of choosing when they want to end their own life, so why does she get the luxury to do so? What about the children and adults in the United States, and in various other countries that die of starvation? They, too, suffer, but they don’t have the luxury of asking a doctor to hand them pills. What about those that are diagnosed with Alzheimer's? What about all of the people that are suffering? They don’t have the choice to meet death on “their own terms” and “free of pain.”

When Maynard fights for “dying with dignity,” I don’t think anyone understands what that means. Dignity relates to nobility, majesty, and regality. It is a sense of pride in oneself; self respect. Dignity also relates to pride, self-esteem, and self-worth. And quite frankly, Brittany Maynard represents none of those things.

Now before you go off on telling me that I’m ignorant and heartless, and don’t understand the situation, let me plead my case. I do understand the other side of it. So, while I am completely one sided when it comes to this situation, it’s not because I’m ignorant and don’t understand the other side of it. No one wants to suffer, I absolutely understand that. I can’t imagine what her and her family are going through. I am so incredibly sorry that it has happened. I can’t imagine the fear, panic, and misery that she experienced. But no matter how hard I try to convince myself, I will never agree with it. I lost my mother to suicide when I was eighteen years old. So yes, I understand that I am extremely sensitive and partial to the subject. However, a lot of what I feel is fact based. I am a suicide prevention advocate, and I have studied and researched suicide, and assisted suicide, inside and out.

If my mother had come to me and said, “Casey I am suffering, I have decided that I am going to end my life on May 28.” I wouldn’t have told her how brave she was. I wouldn’t have applauded her and told her that she was strong and courageous. If I had any say, or any power in the situation, I wouldn’t have let her do it. I have spent the last year and a half wondering what would’ve happened if I could’ve done something to stop her. Wishing that it had never happened, and wishing that there had been something that I could have done. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. I wouldn’t wish it on Brittany Maynard and her family.

I don’t applaud her, I don’t admire her, and I don’t think she’s brave. Blogger Matt Walsh posted a blog titled, “There is Nothing Brave About Suicide.” And while I don’t always agree with Walsh and his opinions, I agree with everything he has said in this blog. He makes a valid point.

— “If you are saying that it is dignified and brave for a cancer patient to kill themselves, what are you saying about cancer patients who don’t? What about a woman who fights to the end, survives for as long as she can, and withers away slowly, in agony, until her very last breath escapes her lungs? Is that person not brave? Is that person not dignified? I thought we applaud that kind of person. I thought we admire her courage and tenacity. Sorry, you can’t advance two contradictory narratives at once. If fighting cancer is brave then it is brave PRECISELY BECAUSE she is fighting it rather than giving up and choosing death. In other words, if struggling against cancer until the bitter end is an act of courage, then it can’t also be an act of courage to opt out and ‘leave on your own terms.’ What makes one courageous is that it is not the other. What makes one commendable is that the other choice exists, yet the heroic individual takes the more admirable route.” —

We’re applauding the wrong person for the wrong reasons. My mother killed herself. And yet, when she did, all I heard about was how selfish and cowardly she was for doing so. And I’ve read and seen the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding suicide. It’s considered selfish, cowardly, and the “easy way out.” What changed? Why do you look down on my mother and put Maynard up on a pedestal? The stigma and the stereotypes didn’t go away so why did our feelings towards suicide suddenly change? After Robin Williams died, many people criticized how the media responded. They said that we were glorifying suicide. Assisted suicide is still suicide, and calling it brave and courageous is glorifying it in every possible way that I can think of. The world was heartbroken when Robin Williams killed himself, but the world supported Maynard’s decision to kill herself. The world is letting everyone know that it’s okay to kill themselves. For the first time in the history of our existence, suicide is okay. And we should be ashamed of this.

So to those of you that praised Brittany Maynard, shame on you. Do you, in fact, have any knowledge of suicide at all? Did you form your own opinion or did you just go along with what everyone else was saying? Did you even listen to what you were saying? Brittany Maynard killed herself. Everyone has been impressed and inspired by a woman’s plan to commit suicide. We are celebrating suicide. As a society, we have been fighting and advocating for our right to kill ourselves. As a society, we told Brittany Maynard that it was okay to kill herself, and she did. Did you even listen to what you were saying?