The Honorable Arlen Specter
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
711 Hart Bldg
Washington, D.C. 20510

              Re: Mesothelioma BailOut Bill

Dear Senator Arlen Specter:

I am begging you to rethink about this bill. I believe it is our governments job to make sure that businesses may not hurt the public. Most of all these Companies knew that the products they were selling and making big profit from could kill.

I believe my husband was murdered by number of these companies. I know you are saying that money can't pay for a persons life. Then my feeling is the Government should treat them like murderers and prosecute them. These people that can file bankruptcy and open under a new name when they have been found quality is a sin. We can't take their money away but they can take our love ones away. It really doesn't make sense and if you have never watched someone die from this disease especially someone you love you have know idea. At first I would have to drain his lung, then he had surgery where they scrape inside of the cavity of his chest wall, take out a rib so they can work, scrape the lung and when they are healed and constant pain, they have either radiation or chemo or both, 40 treatments of 35 min each. Then the esophagus is burned and they can't eat then you just watch them die a little more every day. If you or any other person thinks this is fair I would hate to have you go through it.

He wasn't only the best husband in the world he was the best father, grand-father and great grandfather in the world . We baby sat up to the time he started to have to go and fine out what was wrong. No one ever believed he was 73 yrs. old. He was always guessed at 60 or 62. He also comes from longevity. His mother was 94 his grandfather 107 and his father 82 (and he never took good care of himself).

Please, please don't let these companies get away with this. Go to court case and listen the things that are said. One company VP even suggested that the product be taken to a state that didn't have CA. OSHA. Does this sound like people that deserver to have our governments understanding?

Believe me, we don't believe in all these frivolous suits and my husband at first didn't want to sue but when he realized his life had been taken away, the initial prognosis was 4 mo. He then decided people have to be accountable for what they do. You allow these people to  continue to stay in business and not even to set up funds to help these families.

Thank you for listening to me, please listen to all of us even those that may not be able to write because they don't have time to take care of their loved ones and write letters.

Sincerely,

Mrs George (Ruth) Lachapelle
Huntington Beach, CA

{ to read George Lachapelle's medical profile, please click here }

• Click here for more letters from asbestos cancer survivors taking action against inhumane asbestos trust/bail out bill (SB 852)

*** POSTED ON APRIL 27, 2005 ***