On eve of her 30th birthday, Brittany Maynard's mother defends daughter's decision to end her life

The day before what would have been Brittany Maynard's 30th birthday, her mother is publicly defending her daughter's choice to end her own life as she battled terminal brain cancer.

In a letter released by the death with dignity advocacy group Compassion & Choices, Debbie Ziegler condemned comments made by critics, including a Vatican official who described assisted suicide as "an absurdity."

"My 29-year-old daughter's choice to die gently rather than suffer physical and mental degradation and intense pain does not deserve to be labelled as reprehensible by strangers a continent away who do not know her or the particulars of her situation," Ziegler wrote.

Maynard ended her life on Nov. 1 by taking a lethal dose of medication prescribed to her by a doctor as allowed by Oregon law. Maynard and her family relocated to Oregon from the San Francisco Bay Area following her diagnosis with glioblastoma to take advantage of the state's right-to-die laws.

Ziegler wrote that the harsh criticism Maynard faced in her final weeks of life and in the days following her death was painful for her grieving family.

"Such strong public criticism from people we do not know, have never met - is more than a slap in the face. It is like kicking us as we struggle to draw a breath," she wrote.

She added, though, that however painful Maynard's critics might be, it has not deterred her from supporting her daughter's decision.

Maynard's video explaining her choice to end her life quickly made her the public face of the death with dignity movement. In addition to advocating for nationwide legislation in her final weeks, she also continued her love for travel and adventure by sharing photos from a bucket list trip to the Grand Canyon.