Story highlights Deborah Ziegler's daughter, Brittany Maynard, ended her own life under Oregon Death With Dignity law

Ziegler: America must confront, make available end-of-life medical care and planning

Deborah Ziegler received her MA in science education in California, where she currently lives with her husband Gary, and two cavapoos named Bogie and Bacall. She started a woman-owned engineering company after retiring from her teaching career. She says being Brittany Maynard's mother is her proudest accomplishment in life. Ziegler speaks widely on behalf of end-of-life options in the hope that one day all terminally ill Americans will have the right to aid in dying if they so choose. Her new memoir is "Wild and Precious Life." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) For many Americans, my daughter, Brittany Maynard, was the face of the right-to-die movement. Diagnosed in early 2014 with terminal brain cancer, she chose to move from California to Oregon to take advantage of that state's Death with Dignity Law. It was there that she ended her life two years ago this November.

The process of moving to Oregon, which required numerous trips in and out of the state, was not easy for Britt, but in some respects she was fortunate. We had the ability, time, and resources to be there with her as her condition worsened; and to help her find and meet a new set of doctors, deal with health insurance issues, and arrange for the medical care she'd need.

We also took on various tasks to help her establish residency, including finding, renting, and furnishing a home where she could end her life when she felt the time was right.

But what happens to people in similar situations who don't have the financial resources to relocate to one of the few states where right-to-die laws exist? (Currently there are only five.) What happens to those who don't have family members to provide support the way we did? For them, exercising true autonomy when struggling with terminal illness is virtually impossible.

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