Soap Box

To the editor,

You may recall that 65 percent of Coloradans voted for medical aid in dying to make Colorado the fifth state in the nation to legalize this important option for end-of-life care. Did you know that this option may not be available to you in Durango or nearby towns? Mercy Medical Center boasts wonderful accomplishments including five star ratings, “A” grades and being one of “100 Great Community Hospitals.” It also has a “new, state-of-the-art hospice residence” but fails to mention that it does not provide the legal medical procedure for which a significant majority of local residents voted. The fact that the hospice does not provide complete end-of-life care is not the issue since the law allows for hospitals and physicians to opt in or out based on their values.

The problem is that Mercy is prohibiting its physicians from writing prescriptions that would provide their dying patients with this legal, compassionate option. In Oregon and Washington, the first two states to legalize “death with dignity,” the vast majority of patients use their prescription at home while surrounded by loved ones, and 90-plus percent of them are in hospice care. Colorado law prohibits employers from retaliating against physicians

who participate as long as the prescription is not intended for use on the hospital campus. If you have a Mercy physician and want this important option, ask your doctor if they will help you if the need arises. If they say no, ask for a referral to someone who will. For complete information on the Colorado law and resources for patients, visit www.compassionandchoices.org/colorado/

– Dr. Lauri Costello, Durango

To the editor,

I thank Rep. Tipton for his hard work for western Colorado. His consistent message of environmental stewardship parallels my concerns for preserving our clean air, water and land for future generations.

With the cost of wind and solar power now lower than fossil fuels, even natural gas, Colorado is rapidly transitioning the “all of the above” energy mix to a much higher percentage of clean renewables. This transition translates to more jobs and economic growth for our communities in western Colorado for years to come. I welcome clean renewables’ low carbon footprint, especially in light of our recent devastating droughts and costly wildfires exacerbated by carbon pollution.

To continue Tipton’s environmental stewardship, I encourage him to join the bipartisan Congressional Climate Solutions Caucus and represent western Colorado’s efforts to address the harmful effects of Carbon Pollution. Colorado’s summer and winter tourism have been crippled by a warming climate. Our agriculture is thirsty for relief from water shortages and ever increasing heat. I’m sure his representation in the Caucus would be greatly appreciated by our diverse and hard-working western Colorado communities.

– Ed Atkinson, Citizens Climate Lobby, Durango

To the editor,

Normalized violence has so many pieces to its puzzle. Our culture is addicted to violence in legends, games, movies, racism, religion and television. Add to that conflict in high-density housing, family stress, lack of resources and more. There are those who claim a right to inflict violence by dominance upon those who are denied the right to dignity and freedom from fear. Witness the government-sanctioned violence upon children on our border.

One more puzzle piece is examined in the 2005 book Freakonomics, by economists Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The book reveals that in opposition to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s claim that abortions cause school shootings, it is, indeed, the opposite. Chapter Four, “Where have all of the criminals gone?” correlates case studies where women have gained or lost access to abortion. The loss or lack of access correlates with the rise in violence 17 years later.

Seventeen years ago, George W. Bush instituted a reproductive gag order. His fellow Republicans, state and federal, (who profit from the prison industrial complex), have fought to deny women access to reproductive health care. Seventeen years later, we live with mass shootings and normalized atrocities of government harm to children.

– Stephanie Johnson, Durango