Pat Robertson says Alzheimer's makes divorce OK

Look out, Mrs. Robertson.


In his television broadcast Tuesday, Christian televangelist Pat Robertson said that in certain cases, it may be ethically permissible for a spouse to divorce a husband or wife stricken with Alzheimer’s “if the non-ill spouse is going to do something” with a new partner.


“I know it sounds cruel,” Robertson said in answers to a viewer’s question, adding that although Christian marriage vows are binding “to death do us part” ... “this is a kind of a death.”


“I certainly wouldn’t put a guilt trip on you if you decided that you had to have companionship, you’re lonely, and you’re asking for some companionship,” Robertson said, clarifying that the spouse would have to ensure that his wife would have “somebody looking after her.”




Robertson’s sexual pragmatism seems cruel to many around the Web, with a number of bloggers already criticizing him for his take. Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary called the comments a “repudiation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Tobin Grant at Christianity Today said, “Robertson’s advice stands in stark contrast with most theologians and ethicists who would advise fidelity.” And Gawker had a field day.


Am I the only religion blogger who heard in Robertson’s comments Paul’s utilitarian advice to celibate Corinthians that it is “better to marry than to burn with passion?”


Most Christian denominations at least discourage divorce, citing Jesus' words in the Gospel of Mark that equate divorce and remarriage with adultery.
Terry Meeuwsen, Robertson's co-host, asked him about couples' marriage vows to take care of each other "for better or for worse" and "in sickness and in health."
"If you respect that vow, you say 'til death do us part,'" Robertson said during the Tuesday broadcast. "This is a kind of death."
A network spokesman said Wednesday that Robertson had no further statement.
Divorce is uncommon among couples where one partner is suffering from Alzheimer's, said Beth Kallmyer, director of constituent services for the Alzheimer's Association, which provides resources to sufferers and their families.
"We don't hear a lot of people saying 'I'm going to get divorced,'" she told The Associated Press. "Families typically respond the way they do to any other fatal disease."
The stress can be significant in marriages though, Kallmyer said, because it results in the gradual loss of a person's mental faculties.
"The caregiving can be really stressful on a couple of levels," she said. "There's the physical level. There's also the emotional level of feeling like you're losing that person you love."
As a result, she said, it's important for couples to make decisions about care together in the early stages of the illness, when its effects aren't as prominent.