Hube said the bill is modeled after the Oregon Death with Dignity Act that went into effect in 1997. He said he has been working on the bill for nearly a year and believes that terminally ill patients should have the option of ending their lives.

". We as individuals should have as much control over our lives as possible," Hube said. "I would like to know (if I were in that position) that there are some options. What I would do at that point in my life is hard to predict. It's impossible to predict."

However, in order for a patient to hasten their demise, they would have to meet all of the criteria stipulated in the bill. Chief among the many conditions is that the patient be diagnosed with a terminal condition that would most likely result in their death within six months or less.

Also, a patient must be deemed competent enough at the time to make an informed decision. A person's competence would be determined by the attending physician and must be confirmed by a consulting physician before the patient may be prescribed any medication that would facilitate his or her death. If either the attending or consulting physician feels that the patient may be suffering from a mental disorder or a condition that would impair their judgement, they may refer the patient for counseling.

If this were to occur, no medication would be administered unless it was determined that the patient's judgement was not impaired.

Another important stipulation, which would be the responsibility of the attending physician, is to present patients with all of the other possible end-of-life services such as comfort care, hospice care and pain control. In addition, they must also inform the patient of their diagnosis and prognosis as well as the risks and results of taking the medication. However, patients must take the medication themselves.

A Burlington-based family practitioner who has dealt with terminally patients often, Dr. Diana Barnard, agreed with Hube that it was impossible to predict where the tipping point might come for individual patients.feels the same way.

"This bill will improve patient choice and the control at the end of life which I think is a really invaluable thing," said Barnard. "Physicians do help their patients die now. It happens without any safeguards under the table."

Death with Dignity activist and cancer patient Maria Walsh, is in hopes the legislation being introduced will pass - allowing her to control her own fate.

"Life changes when you're terminal. You look at things very differently," said Walsh. "This cancer has ruled me now since 1995 ... I want the final say when hope is gone and it's just the wait."

Walsh was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 at the age of 53. She underwent surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy and believed the measures had been successful. However, in 2004 when her abdomen abruptly swelled with fluid, exploratory surgery revealed that her breast cancer - once thought eradicated - had spread to other parts of her body. Last January, Walsh had emergency surgery for a blockage in her bowel due to the cancer.

The cancer, surgeries and treatments have had an overwhelming effect on Walsh's physical condition. Her abdomen still retains a lot of fluid, making it uncomfortable to add moderate amounts of food. She says the chemotherapy has left her anemic and she experiences shortness of breath when trying to walk uphill. She has difficulty recovering from a common cold and must avoid crowds. She said the chemotherapy has depleted her short-term memory. Also, the ostomy bag she had attached to her in January 2006 makes sleeping and physical activities such as swimming very difficult.

Walsh said she was given a two to five year prognosis in 2004 when she was informed that the cancer had spread. Walsh said she not only wants to help demystify death, but hopes the bill is passed so she may be the first person in Vermont to make use of the legislation.

While Walsh and many others are staunch supporters of such legislation, there are local religious leaders, among others, who - if they are not vehemently opposed to it - have mixed feelings concerning the matter.

"I come at it from a couple of different angles. One is from the Jewish angle. In the Jewish tradition suicide is not permitted because taking ones own life is a sign of ingratitude to God for the gift of the body," said Rabbi Bob Freedman of the Israel Congregation of Manchester. "(But I think) there comes a time when a person should have the ability to give back the gift of life, but I would want that opportunity to be very severely limited."

Reverend Dr. Robert Carpenter of First Baptist Church shared similar sentiments.

"Taken as a whole, I am certainly in favor of any means that will allow people to be comfortable when they are in their last moments," he said. "(But) I would certainly very much prefer hospice care. ... I would probably indefinitely prefer hospice care to any form of assisted suicide."

Amy Barber-Thomas, Executive Director of Hospice of Bennington County conveyed a different view.

"I guess our focus is on letting folks die," she said. "How people choose to die is a totally individual decision and we'll provide care for them regardless of what they choose."

There has been international controversy surrounding the topic for years and each country has their own regulations. According to www.assistedsuicide.org/suicide_laws.html, in the countries of Norway, Italy, England, Canada, Ireland, Hungary, Russia, New Zealand, Columbia and Australia assisted suicide is considered a crime. Sweden, France, Luxembourg and Scotland have no specific laws forbidding assisted suicide, but there may be repercussions for those who help an individual to die and in Finland, Denmark and Estonia there are no specific laws forbidding assisted suicide.

If the Death with Dignity bill were to be passed, Vermont would become only the fifth place in the world where assisted suicide is practiced openly and legally - sharing the right with Oregon, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.