The Last Promise Dan Diaz Made to His Wife, Brittany Maynard

Instead of waiting to die from terminal brain cancer, 29-year-old Brittany Maynard chose to end her life with prescribed medication on November 1, 2014. After going public with this decision, Brittany found herself at the center of one of the biggest news stories of the year.

Shortly after receiving the devastating prognosis that she would have only six months left to live, Brittany and her husband, Dan Diaz, left their home in California and moved to Oregon, which is one of five states that allows doctors to prescribe aid-in-dying medications to terminally ill adults. Before Brittany died, she partnered with the nonprofit Compassion & Choices to share her story and urge lawmakers in all states to pass right-to-die legislation.

Now, Dan tells Oprah how he's making good on the last promise he made to his wife. "Brittany wanted to see legislation in all states, really, but in California in particular so that people wouldn't have to go through what we did," he says. "When I hear that there are now 13 states introducing legislation, and Washington, D.C., and I think that's because of Brittany."

Watch as Dan reflects on the important conversation his wife helped start. Plus, find out why Dan and Brittany were shocked by the amount of attention her story received.

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