People diagnosed with terminal illnesses are confronted with painful and difficult choices. They must make decisions about potentially life-prolonging treatments, expensive medicines, experimental therapies, legal questions concerning life support and the right to die, and emotional issues affecting their family and loved ones.

One medical option for the dying that has received growing support in recent years is hospice care. Hospices employ the combined expertise of doctors, nurses, social workers, and counselors to focus on the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of the dying patient. Hospice specialists, who may work in a residential facility or in a home, use various therapies to treat pain, depression, fatigue, and other debilitating symptoms associated with terminal illness. According to the National Hospice Organization, the hospice movement seeks neither “to hasten [death] nor to postpone it,” but rather to &ldquo...