Letters and feedback: May 11, 2022

Kudos for Disney, other theme parks

Florida's Native American peoples, from the Ais to the Seminoles, would surely agree with the recent letter writer who suggested Disney, along with the other major theme parks, contributed to damaging Florida's environment.

However, I'm sure they would attribute the migration of immigrants for having a greater impact on Florida's tropical paradise.

Were the major theme parks to abandon Florida, approximately 100,000 jobs leave with them, along with billions in tax revenue. Tourism lessens, money disappears, leading to closure of restaurants, bars, gift shops, hotels, car rentals, Ubers, taxis and reduction in the need for airlines.

Significantly more important, these tax losses would have an enormous impact on home owner property and business taxes, potentially increasing unemployment.

My wife and I relocated from New York 14 years ago, living in a house 1,000 square feet smaller than our current home and paying $10,000 yearly in property tax. Tax on our present home is less than $3,000 annually, definitely affordable. Would Floridians be amenable to New York property tax rates, which are exorbitant? With many of our citizens on fixed incomes, I think not. Thank you, Disney, and all other theme parks.

Gregory W. Hewitt, Melbourne

Choice and end-of-life options

Many letters address the topic of “personal choice." Over the past couple of years, they've addressed masks, vaccines and, currently, abortion. All very important issues. I am writing about personal choice when it comes to end-of-life options.

Death is often seen as something to be defeated at almost any cost. In reality, death is an inevitable part of life than none of us can escape. We can fear it, ignore it or we can embrace it and make it our own. The pain of death — of loss — is unavoidable. However, a “good death” is possible.

Each person should be able to chart their own course at the end of their lives based on their own personal values and priorities. The majority of Americans believe that the terminally ill should be able to, under very specific guidelines, choose to end their own lives through Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). Ten states and the District of Columbia have already passed MAID laws and many others have bills in the legislative process. Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) is legal in all 50 states.

National organizations like Compassion & Choices give people the tools to map out their end-of-life priorities. For information, visit www.compassionandchoices.org.

Your values and priorities might be different than mine. That’s fine. Nevertheless, I should have the right to control my end-of-life experience based on my personal beliefs and values, not those of others.

Patti Leathers, Cocoa Beach

This should be a woman's decision

This is to all men and especially, recent letter writer Donald L. Gilleland, who wrote that all it will take for women to avoid abortions is to not get pregnant. To use contraceptives.

Well, it takes a man to get a woman pregnant. And why should the entire responsibility be on the woman? You are likely a Republican. All the governors in all the states run by Republicans seem to be taking the view that they have the right to say whether a woman or young girl who has an unwanted pregnancy must carry to full term, even if they are raped by a stranger or a family member at any age. I say if men were the ones who had to have a baby, there would be abortion clinics on every corner of every city.

If you aren't keeping up, some of these "less than" governors are trying to restrict birth control pills, and contraceptives — ones you suggest using — sent through the mail. Which begs the question, how would they know what is in an individual's mail? Wouldn't HIPPA still apply? And it is none of their business.

I don't know if I could have ever had an abortion when I was younger but I respect the right of another person to run their life as they see fit. What happened to all those anti-mask and anti-vaxxers yelling "My body, my choice"? Wake up and live your life the way you want and leave others to do the same.

Donna Carroll, Rockledge

'The writing is on the wall'

Louisiana’s “fetal personhood” bill, HB 813, would make abortion a crime of homicide from the moment of fertilization of an egg. This would allow prosecutors to charge patients, including victims of rape or incest, with murder.

Gov. DeSantis vetoed money for long-term contraception and created his own redistricting law. “Fetal Personhood” will be next. The writing is on the wall.

Kathy Ojeda, Merritt Island

Nothing shocking about that leak

I fail to understand why it is so shocking that a document was leaked from our Supreme Court when sensitive documents are leaked almost daily from our other judicial and legislative branches.

Almost daily we hear on the news of someone from the Oval Office, or Congress, speaking on the condition of “anonymity," and that seems to be acceptable. Additionally, we hear the term “packing the court” in order to obtain favorable renderings for either the left or the right. If our courts are supposed to interpret our laws impartially, why then are people and organizations able to “court shop," even in different states, in order to obtain a favorable decision for their case?

Finally, I do not believe in lifetime appointments. It’s like buying a car and never being able to replace it, even if it’s defective.

Thomas Johnson, Palm Bay

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Letters and feedback: May 11, 2022