The Odone’s lived an incredibly difficult life, with such a badly damaged boy who needed so much care.

They could have killed him, of course, by the simple expedient of the withdrawal of care. It’s legal. Sons and daughters do it to elderly parents all the time; it’s the way we’re going to take care of our Alzheimer’s problem with the Baby Boomers. There will be no problem. Once the official designation of Alzheimer’s is made, the individual will no longer have any say over their care. Once the inevitable physical failure begins that individual will die. Over time this methodology that will grow efficient. “It’s better that way, don’t cha know? She’s at peace now.”

The Odone’s could have done the same with their boy, but since they loved him they knew they would have been killing him. Fate gave them a decision. They chose love, and an incredibly hard life, over convenience. In my opinion this was a better life than the easy one they could have had. Fate’s tough sometimes.

Note: How a mentally competent individual responds to the inevitable loss of the loveliness of life is a separate matter. It’s third party decisions as to who lives or who dies that threaten a moral corruption. There’s always a good reason for a dead body.