Medical aid in dying is the compassionate choice

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In his Jan. 20 op-ed, “Medical aid in dying should not be proscribed,” George F. Will correctly argued that medical aid in dying (MAID) should be legally available for terminally ill, mentally competent adults.

As an octogenarian who has volunteered for decades at the bedsides of dying individuals, first with hospice and now with End of Life Choices California, I can attest to the beauty and peace made possible through this humane option. I’ve yet to meet anyone who would choose, instead, to die in a bright-lit hospital cubicle with tubes and wires attached everywhere and few if any loved ones nearby.

Why we continue to waste millions of dollars and precious human resources on futile prolongation of life rather than enabling peaceful death with MAID is beyond understanding.

Fran Moreland Johns, San Francisco

The writer is the author of “Dying Unafraid.”