Things I learned in conversation last night:
1. The words of the marriage vow "in sickness and in health" were written long before recent medical advances, so, apparently they are no longer relevant in today's society.
2. "Sickness" apparently means "going to get better", at least in the case of marriage vows. If one spouse's "sickness" is never going to get better, then, apparently the vow does not apply.
3. People have needs. Someone whose spouse is "sick" as in #2 can certainly move on to have an extramarital affair resulting in two children, and yet still be looking out for the best interests of the aforementioned spouse.
4. Starvation and dehydration is a cruel and painful death. Lethal injection, being quick and painless, would be preferred. Grandma, whose life has been long and is now reduced to puttering around at home waiting to die, would be recommended to take a lethal injection, if it were legal, but not to starve herself. However since lethal injection is still considered murder in this country, it is okay to starve and dehydrate someone who can't speak for themself, if it is determined that death is preferable to living in that person's state, and starvation/dehydration is the only method that will result in death.
5. "Quality of life" is a somewhat hazy concept having to do with the ability to wipe one's own ass. Those lacking this capacity have a life that is not worth living, and should be terminated.
6. Paraplegics and quadriplegics, although they are unable to know when their ass needs wiping and/or to wipe it, are exempt from #5 if they are able to speak for themselves. "Quality of life" (or rather lack thereof) is modified to mean anyone who can't wipe their own ass AND can't speak for themselves.
7. Babies, though they lack the capacities of both speaking and ass-wiping, are exempt from #5 and #6 because they have the potential to learn to speak and/or wipe their asses. However if there is no hope of learning to speak and wipe, then babies can also be terminated.
8. Although this was not brought up in last evening's conversation, from prior experience I know that a fetus, though it has the potential to become a baby with the potential to speak and/or wipe its own ass, can be terminated at any time regardless of its potential, because a fetus's "potential" is not enough to give it any rights, but a baby's "potential" is enough to protect and defend. (Except for babies that don't have any potential, of course.)
Quite enlightening. I think.
"Moral issues are always terribly complex, for someone without principles."
- GK Chesterton