I am seconding Jenny Hansell’s letter in support of medical aid in dying [”Choosing medical aid in dying,” Gazette, June 23]. The description of her friend’s illness and pursuit of medical assistance is heartbreaking. He lived in Colorado and, while legal, the process only became possible when he could no longer take nourishment.

I am nearly 10 years into my journey with ALS. I have lost many friends, most of whom I met online in support groups. Their descriptions of the last weeks and months of life are equally horrific. Frequent hospitalization, fighting pneumonia, and struggling to clear secretions from airways are all too common. Many of them have access to palliative and hospice care. I have a rare, slowly progressing form of the disease. But at some point, barring any significant treatments becoming available, I will develop similar illnesses. My family will have to endure the final stages of ALS with me.

This legislation would allow me to choose when I go. Wouldn’t it be better to share goodbyes with people I love on my terms, rather than from a hospital bed attached to a myriad of wires and equipment? Senator Jo Comerford’s bill is currently awaiting approval in the Legislature. I am confident that people who are suffering from various illnesses will not be coerced into taking medication. I hope Massachusetts will join other states in offering this option for people who are suffering at the end of life.

Andrew Grimaldi

Florence