LETTER: Columnist wrong on governor’s assisted suicide veto
Although I have long been a fan of Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks, I was disappointed Wednesday to read of his validation of Gov. Joe Lombardo’s veto of Senate Bill 239, also known as the death with dignity bill.
The Vegas Voice magazine conducted a petition drive that garnered 2,679 signatures in favor, only 8 against, mostly signed by seniors in the Las Vegas Valley. All were submitted to the Legislature.
The governor’s reasoning was that the bill was not necessary because palliative care was available. Mr. Joecks wrote that “approval of people killing themselves” sends a “horrible, destructive message.”
Obviously neither the governor nor Mr. Joecks has ever lost a loved one or a cherished friend to one of the many terminal illnesses — Lou Gehrig’s disease, pancreatic cancer, brain cancer and so on — that ravage the body and life of those suffering. I don’t feel that government has the right to dictate when we leave this world. It is a very personal decision and one we, the people, should be able to make for ourselves.
