I had some time yesterday, and decided to watch some Daily Show after seeing a link to an interview on Norm's blog. That link pointed to a long interview Jon Stewart had with Mike Huckabee. It was long for the Daily Show, but they put up the unedited version on their website at Comedy Central.

Jon starts out telling Mike that the last time he was on the show, he promised Mike the topic would be of Mike's choosing. It ends up being about abortion, which Huckabee refers to as pro-life issues. Mike Huckabee uses an analogy of people dealing with aging parents. He equates children and their would be selfishness, should they become distressed at the costs both financially and mentally of caring for an elderly parent, and should they also seek relief, with a woman seeking an abortion for the same reason. He says the life of the parent is equivalent to the life of a fetus, and the selfishness a woman with child seeking relief is the same selfishness people feel should they tire of caring for elderly parents.

He refuses to bring up the difference of the elderly parent and the fetus. He focuses on the unsavory aspects of the woman's reasons for seeking an abortion, as well as the reasons of those dealing with elderly parents. There is a disparity there. In my opinion, it is the parent that is exhibiting selfish behavior that is willing to put their children through such an ordeal, if indeed it is an ordeal.

I was surprised when Jon didn't bring up this problem with Huckabee's rationalization. It is the person that wishes NOT to burden others with their infirmity in old age that seems to me to be the morally superior, rather than the family members that wish to keep such a person alive at all costs. It seems to be the way with religious people, and it seems the easy way out. They would rather insist that "life is precious, all life", and on that notion force others to care for another, even if it is a full time occupation, and one would be financially and mentally strapped in the process. It is easy, rather than deal with any arguments to the contrary, because they are disregarded as belonging to morally inferior concepts. It is a contract between one who needs care, and those that would provide that care, and the fact that one needs care does not afford them the right to burden another with supplying that care.

In essence, the situation between an elderly person and their children should be dealt with as they agree, however they agree to handle it. Religious people seek to shanghai the decision, imposing their version of morality into the mix, a version that can likely be contrary to a rational agreement made between consenting adults.