Sanctity of Marriage

Commenting on the Schiavo case, on which I will not directly comment, Dahlia Lithwick writes

Congressional Republicans who have staked their careers and the last election on the "sanctity of marriage" have turned this case into a mockery of that very institution.

All through the debate on gay marriage, conservatives railed on and on about the sanctity of marriage. How often did we hear that marriage must be "defended"? One of the fundamental elements of this case is the institution of marriage.

One of the legal consequences of marriage is that the spouse becomes the guardian if the other becomes incapacitated. Lithwick explains

The law says that when one marries one takes on a whole host of legal rights and duties that trump your parents' wishes. Marriage is a sacred and intimate promise.

Terri Schiavo has unquestionably become incapacitated, automatically making her husband her guardian. That's part of the institution of marriage conservatives are so eager to defend. But now they want to demean and diminish marriage by allowing, where convenient, parents' rights to trump those of the spouse. Embattled House Majority leader Tom DeLay, turning the attention away from his numerous ethics problems, said

I don't know what transpired between Terri and her husband. All I know is Terri is alive. ... Unless she has specifically written instructions in her hand, with her signature, I don't care what her husband says.

Marriage, it seems, is sacred only when convenient.