Who should be involved in the ending of a life?

Re “Justices Hear Oregon Right-to-Die Case,” Oct. 6

The fight just beginning in the Supreme Court over the right to die is ostensibly only a battle over euthanasia, but it is also a tussle worthy of the attention of the entire nation due to the profound message it will send about the right of states to regulate their own business. Let the people of Oregon make the rules they see fit and, if I want to live in a state that will let me die as I wish, I will move there.

If I want the federal government spending millions of dollars to prop me up and keep me in a vegetative state forever, then I will move to Florida, where the Bushes have already perfected the practice.

ERIC MAHONEY

Tujunga

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I am 75, physically and mentally active and enjoy life. As long as I can maintain this situation and keep my independence, I will be happy.

However, should I contract a terminal and possibly painful disease and lose the capability to care for myself, I would welcome the ability to decide when my life has become an unbearable burden. A person’s life should not be governed by arbitrary quasi-religious standards directing how someone must die. Each person should have the opportunity to make that decision for himself.

GARY A. ROBB

Los Feliz