BOSTON -- Once again, Massachusetts is considering legislation that would allow those suffering from a terminal illness to choose a death with dignity -- a hot-button issue among many, including those who believe hospice care already provides enough options.

If we can decide how we live our lives, shouldn't we be able to determine how to end our life?

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With health care proxies and do-not-resuscitate orders, we are already making these decisions. As with the four states that have passed a Death with Dignity law, any Bay State bill should include safeguards to ensure that each individual is making a voluntary and informed decision.

In Oregon, which passed the law 12 years ago, reports indicate well under 1 percent of the patients that inquire about using the option actually use the prescription.

No doubt there is comfort in knowing that an individual can control his or her destiny.

Great progress has been made thanks to hospice services and living wills that provide people with choices at the end of their lives. Nevertheless, it may be time for Massachusetts to get out of the way of a dying person's last wish.