Removing a Feeding Tube Is Cruel and Hopefully Unusual

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

So reads the eighth amendment to the US Constitution. I oppose the death penalty in all situations because it's wrong and immoral to take a God-given life, and because it's cruel punishment. The cruelest punishment. This is a pro-life viewpoint.

And the state, when it does take a life, does so quickly to minimize the inmate's cruel suffering.

If a quick, intentional death is cruel punishment for someone who committed a crime, then surely a slow, intentional death is cruel for someone who did nothing wrong.

I am neither a medical professional, nor am I a shrill voice of of the far-right Dobson/Falwell/DeLay contingent.

But I know that intentionally starving to death a severely disabled person is wrong. Obviously and clearly wrong. A convicted murderer, even dog and cats, are accorded more dignity and consideration than has Terri Schiavo. Basic nutrition for the disabled is a right, not a privilege, as is air to breath and shelter from the elements.

Intentionally starving to death anyone is cruel and I hope unusual. But it's apparently not illegal.

We need to change the law. Now. Murder is always wrong. This, too, is a pro-life viewpoint.