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Brittany Maynard Family Pushing California Right-To-Die Bill

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The mother of Brittany Maynard, a woman with brain cancer who moved to Oregon to legally end her life, appeared Wednesday in the state capitol to argue that no other Californians should have to uproot their lives for a peaceful death.

Debbie Ziegler urged lawmakers to carry on her daughter's legacy by passing legislation to allow California doctors to prescribe life-ending medication.

Maynard, a 29-year-old San Francisco Bay Area woman with brain cancer, garnered worldwide attention after publicizing her struggle to die on her own terms. She took her life on Nov. 1 in Oregon, one of five states where the practice is legal.

RELATED: New Video Of Brittany Maynard Released On What Would Have Been Her 30th Birthday

Aid in dying advocates say legislative efforts to allow terminally ill patients to end their lives are picking up steam. Bills have been introduced in Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Washington, D.C., and are being considered in New York and Colorado.

Right-to-die legislation has floundered in statehouses for years after emotionally charged debates and strong opposition. Some medical groups say prescribing life-ending medication violates a doctor's oath to do no harm, while some advocates for persons with disabilities fear some sick patients would feel pressured to end their lives to avoid being a financial burden.

Maynard's story, publicized in online videos with tens of millions of views and in national media appearances, has thrust the issue back into public consciousness.

"Most Californians would not be able to do what we did," Ziegler said at a press conference introducing right-to-die legislation inspired by Maynard. "We knew they couldn't leave their homes; they couldn't leave their jobs; they couldn't leave their families, their friends, their pets. We had to do all of that. It added another layer of pain."

Aid-in-dying advocates say they may pursue a ballot measure in California if the bill does not pass the Legislature.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.

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