Legalize medical aid in dying
Death with dignity
Regarding “A case can be made for approving medical aid in dying,” ( Jan. 20): A Connecticut woman, dying a prolonged and difficult death, was mentioned in this article as being quite rightly offended knowing that 75 percent of Connecticut voters favor medical aid in dying — MAID — but their state legislature had no time to consider this issue, but had time to make pizza their state's official food. Shameful! In recent polls, the majority of Americans support MAID, with a Gallup poll revealing that the majority of church attendees support it, as do all political groups, including Republicans. Texas state leaders need to answer this question: If they value personal liberty, individual responsibility and self determination in medical care decisions, what is keeping them from supporting medical aid in dying?
Cindy Merrill, co-founder of Texas Death with
Dignity George Will's excellent opinion piece on MAID is headlined “A case can be made for approving medical aid in dying.” I believe that a more appropriate headline would read “Numerous cases beg for approval of medical aid in dying.” The strongest case in my memory is my father, on his deathbed, saying, “Gee, they'd let a dog die with more dignity than they're letting me go.”
I don't want to die among strangers in an ICU on a ventilator with tubes stuck in every orifice of my body. I want to die the way my dogs have always died: in loving arms, with soothing words, perhaps munching on my favorite snack.
Page S. Williams, Houston
Balancing act
Regarding “Tomlinson: Billionaires' good intentions for Texas journalism come with high risks,” ( Jan. 21):
I always read Chris Tomlinson's commentary, and although I don't always agree with him, I find he does his homework. I found his article on the planned media outlet insightful.
I find that the political coverage by the Chronicle and articles by the New York Times and Washington Post are usually biased, mostly supporting the Democratic Party positions. Not just the newspapers' commentary, but the news reporting as well, which is the real problem.
I believe that provides another explanation why there is a push by nonprofits to get into the news reporting business. Juan Campo, Houston