[2] Supporters argue that the measure would give terminally ill patients dignity and control over their deaths, and would alleviate suffering.

Opponents argue that the measure is morally wrong, and that beneficiaries of terminally ill patients could abuse the provisions presented by the proposal.

[3] The ballot language of the measure reads as follows:[4] A YES VOTE would enact the proposed law allowing a physician licensed in Massachusetts to prescribe medication, at the request of a terminally-ill patient meeting certain conditions, to end that person’s life.

The following is information obtained from the opposing side of the initiative: The Committee Against Physician Assisted Suicide returned a $250,000 donation from a conservative Mississippi-based organization with anti-gay views in order to "keep the focus on the ballot question".

The American Family Association was the largest single donor to the Committee Against Physician Assisted Suicide with the remainder coming mainly from religious organizations.