Brittany Maynard’s mum blasts Vatican ‘slap in face’

The mother of a right-to-die advocate responded angrily to criticism from the Vatican of Brittany Maynard’s decision to end her life early under an Oregon law written to let terminally-ill patients die on their own terms.

Days after Ms Maynard’s November 1 death at age 29, the Vatican’s top bioethics official called her choice “reprehensible” and said physician-assisted suicide should be condemned.

Ms Maynard’s mother, Debbie Ziegler, issued a sharp written response, saying the comments from Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, came as the family was grieving and were “more than a slap in the face”.