Newsday letters to the editor for Monday, June 11, 2018

His case for doctor-aided suicide in NY

I believe many doctors want to keep patients alive because it’s great money. For many patients, more money is spent on end-of-life medicine than at any other time in their lives.

When my stroke-victim father was in the hospital, there wasn’t a test or procedure that was missed. When a tiny spot was found on my 88-year-old mother’s chest X-ray, a doctor suggested an exploratory procedure. When I asked what the upside was beyond a painful recovery, assuming she survived, he couldn’t give a good answer. The procedure wasn’t done, and Mom is 96 and in decent condition.

I do not want to leave life the way I came in, in diapers and unable to care for myself. When I’m tired of living, no one should be able to tell me I can’t end my life at a time and place of my choosing [“As Albany considers doctor-aided suicide,” Letters, June 3].

When the pain of any condition makes it unbearable to go through the day, why prolong the suffering? Back in the day, some family doctors came to the house of terminally ill people and did the right thing. I want that option to be available today.

Bob Cavaliere,Port Jefferson Station

Why is Nassau waiting on bag fee?

Richard Nicolello, the presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature, is refusing to consider a vote on a bill proposed by Legis. Debra Mule to encourage the use of reusable bags in the county [“Charged up on bag fees,” News, May 24].

Suffolk County instituted a 5-cent charge for paper and plastic bags in January, and it has succeeded. In the first three months, 40 percent more people were using reusable bags, according to a survey. In Long Beach and other places, similar laws have succeeded.

Nicolello says the 5-cent charge will create a tax burden. This is just not true! The real tax burden is the cost of cleaning up the environmental damage of single-use plastic bags. Nicolello also says he is waiting for Albany to act. While Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo proposed a bill, there is no guarantee that the State Legislature will pass it soon. We need to urge our Nassau County legislators to do the right thing for our communities now.

Shelley Goldman,

Merrick

It is time for Nassau County to adopt Suffolk County’s plastic bag policy.

Since Suffolk implemented a policy requiring customers to pay 5 cents for paper and plastic bags, the number of nonreusable bags has dropped significantly. The fewer plastic and paper bags that are used, the less harm wildlife endures and the less our water is polluted.

If a policy in the neighboring county has been effective, why are Nassau legislators so resistant to allowing a vote on the bill?

Edward Wilkowski,

East Meadow

We use produce bags over and over, we recycle Newsday wrappers, and we try to avoid waste in many other ways. When we find discarded bags, we recycle them. Not enough people care. We look to the day when plastic bags are gone altogether.

Peggy McCalmont,

North Massapequa

Why didn’t police act faster in abduction?

I see holes in the investigative timeline of the case of John Ligurgo III and his 2-year-old son, Jiovani, who were found dead of gunshot wounds Wednesday in Virginia [“Tragedy brings Amber Alert review,” News, June 8].

Where was the urgency on the part of the Suffolk County Police Department? And why didn’t common sense prevail on the part of the New York State Police?

A suspicious fire, a possible firearm and a complaint that a child had been abducted: The only thing missing from this scenario was an eyewitness account.

By 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, an hour after the mother had first reported a possible abduction, the Suffolk police should have requested the Amber Alert, but that did not occur until 7:53 p.m. When was the NYPD notified? You can’t escape New York City without having your license plate read.

I don’t understand how this case didn’t fit the criteria for an Amber Alert. When the State Police learned that Ligurgo crossed into New Jersey, a multi-jurisdictional alert could have been created.

Opportunities and lives were lost.

Joseph Giacalone,Wantagh

Editor’s note: The writer is a retired NYPD sergeant and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Hopes for world peace are at stake

When the presidents of the United States and North Korea meet in Singapore, they should realize they are carrying the hopes and the dreams of the people of the world into the negotiating room with them. On June 12, 1982, millions around the world and a million people in New York City marched to demand nuclear disarmament.

The people have been waiting. It is time for peace and for a safer world without nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear annihilation. So we hope for significant progress toward a nuclear free world at this summit.

Margaret Melkonian,

Uniondale

Editor’s note: The writer is executive director of the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, an advocacy group.