# Is eight hours too long to go without being offered a drink of water? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 14, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130 "2018-12-14T17:51:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/21 "2018-12-14T19:21:19Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Maybe, but there’s a difference between offering some basic fucking human comfort to a dying person and kicking her when she’s down. > > Guess which one covers the failure to offer a drink of water for several hours? The quoted article doesn’t say that they didn’t offer water, the quoted article says that they haven’t addressed the issue one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/22 "2018-12-14T19:33:22Z")
The fact remains, the girl died while in US custody. Hell yeah they are responsible. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/23 "2018-12-14T19:40:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Thank you for your expert medical opinion. Nothing in the links actually verifies that that was the case. > > It’s impossible to determine the the exact facts of the case from the information in the links in the OP. But even if her caretaker was hadn’t taken proper care of her, once she was in custody the authorities bear some responsibility for her welfare. The thing is, that is absolutely true… we don’t know. There is in fact no evidence presented thus far that the child was denied water by border authorities. All we know is that she must have been in some degree of distress when first taken into custody; a person doesn’t die of dehydration in eight hours. To what extent she was in visible distress, or whether her parent was asked about her health, or if her parent knew she was ill, or if she was given water or food, we simply do not know. steronz is of course absolutely right; if one looks at this on a strategic scale, the decision to close checkpoints and shoot teargas at people inevitably drives people to try to cross at more remote places, which inevitably results in this sort of thing happening. That does not, however, mean anyone in the employ of the US government directly killed this poor little girl at the place she was found. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/24 "2018-12-14T19:42:24Z")
Lets be clear, the US border patrol is well known for destroying Humanitarian supplies, they have no concern if these people die. Why would they care any more about people they have in custody except to protect their own asses? > **[US border patrol routinely sabotages water left for migrants, report says](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/17/us-border-patrol-sabotage-aid-migrants-mexico-arizona)** > > Humanitarian groups report agents routinely destroy supplies left in Arizona desert, condemning people to die of thirst History will view this as another low point in Americas history. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/25 "2018-12-14T20:39:20Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > The fact remains, the girl died while in US custody. Hell yeah they are responsible. Yes, this. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/26 "2018-12-14T21:06:21Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Thank you for your expert medical opinion. Okay, maybe one of the doctors on the board can chime in–what are the chances of survival for a child in septic shock with a 106 degree fever that is hours away from death if they recieve hospital treatment a few hours sooner than they actually did? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/27 "2018-12-14T21:07:44Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Okay, maybe one of the doctors on the board can chime in–what are the chances of survival for a child in septic shock with a 106 degree fever that is hours away from death if they recieve hospital treatment a few hours sooner than they actually did? Holy shit, dude. What kind of dead-soul motherfucker would calculate that way? If the girl’s chance of survival at that point is 1 in a thousand, **you take her to the fucking hospital**. Christ almighty. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/28 "2018-12-14T21:17:28Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Holy shit, dude. What kind of dead-soul motherfucker would calculate that way? > > If the girl’s chance of survival at that point is 1 in a thousand, **you take her to the fucking hospital**. > > Christ almighty. Indeed. We are curious if the girl could have lived if she had received medical attention. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/29 "2018-12-14T21:20:55Z")
When they noticed how bad she was [they _did_ take her to the fucking hospital](https://kfor.com/2018/12/14/7-year-old-guatemalan-girl-died-of-dehydration-septic-shock-after-crossing-border/). She was “airlifted to the Providence Children’s Hospital in El Paso.” Where she died despite of intensive medical care. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/30 "2018-12-14T22:38:05Z")
NPR just reported that ICE didn’t know and were not told she was ill until her Father said that she was vomiting. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/31 "2018-12-14T22:45:03Z")
I’m of the opinion that ICE are assholes but not responsible for the girl’s death. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/32 "2018-12-14T22:57:58Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I’m of the opinion that ICE are assholes but not responsible for the girl’s death. Fuck you. Fuck ICE. Fuck the USA. With a fucking cactus. If you arrest someone; you “take them in your custody”; you are literally responsible for them. That is what the words mean. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/33 "2018-12-14T23:12:30Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > If you arrest someone; you “take them in your custody”; you are literally responsible for them. That is what the words mean. You have a point. I wish her Father had told them that she was ill. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/34 "2018-12-14T23:34:39Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > In this particular case, it looks like a nearly dead child finished dying, and probably would have died no matter who picked them up. “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/35 "2018-12-14T23:44:37Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > In this particular case, it looks like a nearly dead child finished dying, and probably would have died no matter who picked them up. I’m no fan of Trump or his goons, but I bet they’d love you. This kind of uninformed benefit of the doubt is the wind beneath their leathery wings. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/36 "2018-12-14T23:45:52Z")
No matter what your opinion may be of Mexicans, migrants, etc., this was a CHILD. Even if they couldn’t tell she was sick, which I find doubtful, they should have offered her food and water, even if she had difficulty taking it, and then gotten her medical attention. That this is the anniversary of Sandy Hook, where some 7-year-olds also died needlessly, has not escaped me. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/37 "2018-12-14T23:51:57Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” Please. :rolleyes: You don’t develop the conditions for septic shock from sitting in custody for 8 hours without a glass of water. What I’m fucking saying is that if there was a fully-staffed pediatric hospital 5 sitting five feet from the border that the father walked into the moment he stepped across the border 8 hours earlier, then it is still a pretty damn good chance that a dehydrated child in septic shock with a 106 degree fever would have died no matter how much attention she got. She spent a week crossing the desert without food or water. She spent 24 hours under the intensive care of medical professionals. Blaming the 8 hours between for her death is pure politics. How much after she was brought in with 162 other people would ICE have had to airlift her to the hospital before the death wasn’t “their fault?” Would it have been their fault if she was there in septic shock for 5 minutes before calling the helicopter? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/38 "2018-12-14T23:55:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Even if they couldn’t tell she was sick, which I find doubtful, they should have offered her food and water, even if she had difficulty taking it, and then gotten her medical attention. _Nobody has said that they weren’t offered food and water_. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/39 "2018-12-15T01:11:07Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Are mean people attracted to this sort of job, or are they just very stupid? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130/40 "2018-12-15T01:12:18Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > _Nobody has said that they weren’t offered food and water_. Did ICE pick up people who had just crossed a desert? Did they perform an adequate medical check on the people they were picking up? Again: if they checked everyone out and began offering medical aid to the girl as soon as they could reasonably tell she was in bad health, they performed well. But from all appearances they didn’t. At best, this is gross negligence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eight-hours-too-long-to-go-without-being-offered-a-drink-of-water/826130.md?page=3)