Last month, the Governor of Vermont signed a law that allows non-residents whose life expectancy is less than six months to choose to end their lives in Vermont with the aid of a willing Vermont physician.

Medical assistance in dying is controversial.  But watching my husband Peter suffer with no food or water for eight interminable days because he chose not to go on with his much-diminished quality of life has persuaded me that this option should be available for mentally competent individuals with no hope for recovery.

I am not trying to persuade others to agree with me about medical aid in dying.   What I would ask is that those who have a terminal illness and are supported by their families in their decision to die on their own terms be permitted to do so.

In Massachusetts where I live, a bill to allow this choice has never come out of committee and thus the legislature has not been able to vote on this issue.

Many residents support bringing this legislation to the floor of the Massachusetts State House this session.

I am one of them.