Letters: Ohio Rep. Jean Schmidt lacks 'empathy, humanity and sensibility' about rape, women

Jean Schmidt shows lack of empathy

In my imagination, I wonder what trauma has taken place in the life of a person who could say out loud that a woman who becomes pregnant by a rapist needs to see that vulgar and violent act against her personhood as "an opportunity."

No, my imagination cannot go there. It is too vile and vicious of an image to let it sit in my consciousness.

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Yet Ohio Rep. Jean Schmidt seems to have boldly let us see her lack of empathy, humanity, and sensibility as she continues to rage about women of substance and character and responsibility who make heartfelt decisions about their own bodies and future.

Al Debelak, Columbus

Insulin cost too high for too long

Darrel Rowland is right: The cost of insulin and prescription drugs has been far too high, for far too long (April 28 Dispatch.com article, "Here’s the real reason insulin and other vital prescription drugs cost you so much").

Insulin costs rising: Soaring insulin prices show how the US is losing the battle against high drug costs

Corporate price-gouging and decisions by shadowy pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), combined with misguided policy written by politicians in the pockets of Big Pharma companies, have pushed drug costs higher and higher for Ohio families.

I’m working to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs for all Americans, and have fought for years to crack down on price-gouging, allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices, and cap annual price increases.

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Pharmacy benefit managers are also part of the problem, and I’ve worked on legislation to increase transparency, and successfully pushed the administration to do more to control PBM fees.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown

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'Marginalized' people live in fear of police violence

During April, two juries were given long, vague instructions to judge the actions of three plain-clothed Columbus officers driving unmarked vehicles who ended the lives of their two suspects.

Neither jury held the officers, Zach Rosen, Jason Bare, nor Andrew Mitchell, accountable for murder or civil rights violations.

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The jurors had only the Fourth Amendment, and a series of breadcrumbs to follow. Actually, Graham cracker crumbs.

Dethorne Graham was seriously injured by Officer M.S. Connor, who misinterpreted his insulin overdose as criminal behavior. In 1989, Graham v. Connor made its way to the Supreme Court, establishing the case law standard for judging excessive use of force by police officers.

Wrongful death: Federal jury sides with Columbus officers in Henry Green wrongful death trial

Since then, each case involving police use of force drops one more Graham cracker crumb on the trail away from a society where Black, poor, disabled, and other marginalized members can live without fear of being killed by a sworn officer, even one out of uniform.

'Please help me!': Final moments of Donna Castleberry's life heard in Mitchell murder trial

Graham asks: What would a reasonable officer do in that same situation?

Both Donna Dalton Castleberry and Henry Green likely assumed they were defending themselves against another civilian, not a reasonable officer.

Could we instead ask: What would a reasonable victim do when confronted with that same situation?

Edie Milligan Driskill, Sharon Township

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: What can be done to lower the cost of insulin, other drugs?