Is Alzheimers cause for divorce? Pat Robertson says it is. Asked for advice from a friend whose wife is suffering from the disease, Robertson said on his show the 700 club, “I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her,” Robertson said.
I cannot imagine the pain of watching your spouse slowly die from Alzheimers, but even more imaginable is the pain of abandonment, something I never wish to inflict on anyone. Troubling is how totally self-serving Robertson’s advice is, something marriage vows should diminish.
Robertson did say, “Get some ethicist besides me to give you the answer.” I’m pretty sure most, if not all, ethicists would give the opposite advice, especially those who see personal ethics as rooted in virtues.
Related: Remarried Catholics shouldn’t be divorced from communion
