Smokers, Singer and Ashley X.

MJ Johnson at The Ragged Edge speculates about the timing of the recent news reports about the identification of the spot on the brain that controls addiction to smoking and Peter Singer's NYT op ed piece about Ashley X, the young girl whose parents authorized surgery to keep her body from maturing.

Johnson notes that the reports about the brain discovery all contain statements assuring people that no one is suggesting that inflicting brain damage on a smoker is a legitimate treatment option, but wonders:

Why is modifying the brain of "normal" people who have a smoking addiction so quickly called "brain damage" or "brain injury" as though it could in no circumstance be countenanced, and yet when the person is already disabled, like Ashley . . .

Johnson also points out this "vintage Singer" part of his op-ed piece:

What matters in Ashley’s life is that she should not suffer, and that she should be able to enjoy whatever she is capable of enjoying. Beyond that, she is precious not so much for what she is, but because her parents and siblings love her and care about her. Lofty talk about human dignity should not stand in the way of children like her getting the treatment that is best both for them and their families.

So Ashley is precious (and presumably thus worth something) only because she has parents and a sibling who love her.   Where does that leave the truly obnoxious people of this world?  Not to mention those who are alone and unloved through no fault of their own, but because of unfortunate circumstances?