April 11, 2018: Del Rio New-Herald * Letter to the Editor * It doesn't make any sense

Letter to the Editor,
It doesn’t make any sense

Q: You’re against the death penalty?
A: Yes.

Q: But you’re for abortion?
A:  It’s a woman’s right to have an abortion.

Q:  A convicted criminal that’s been found guilty by a jury of his or her peers and has been sentenced to the death penalty by the laws of that state should be allowed to live, but an innocent baby growing and developing in his or her mother’s womb should be allowed to be killed.
A: That’s not right.

Q: What’s right?
A: (Silence)

Q: You’re against war?
A: Yes.

Q: But you’re for assisted suicide?
A: It’s a person’s right to die with dignity.

Q: We shouldn’t defend ourselves against those who use aggression and force to bring death and destruction upon us, but we should kill someone who says they want to die because us killing them is something dignified to do.
A: That’s not right.

Q: What’s right?
A: (Silence)

Q: You’re against torture?
A: Yes.

Q: But you’re for euthanasia?
A: It’s a person’s right to die with dignity.

Q: Torture is wrong, but isn’t starvation and dehydration torturing people? Brophy vs. New England Sinai Hospital states: “As a person dies from dehydration, his or her mouth dries out and becomes caked or coated with thick material; lips become parched and cracked; the tongue swells and could crack; eyes recede back into their orbits; cheeks become hollow; lining of the nose might crack and cause the nose to bleed; skin begins to hang loose on the body and becomes dry and scaly; urine would become highly concentrated, leading to burning of the bladder; lining of the stomach dries out, likely causing the person to experience dry heaves and vomiting; body temperature can become very high; brain cells dry out, causing convulsions; respiratory tract also dries out causing thick secretions that could plug the lungs and cause death. At some point the person’s major organs, including the lungs, heart, and brain give out and death occurs.”
A: (Silence.  Walks away sad.)

Marian Casillas, Ed.D.
Del Rio, Texas