Smackdown: Exploiting the defenseless!

You be the judge. Which is lower?

This, from today's NYT:

The parents of Terri Schiavo have authorized a conservative direct-mailing firm to sell a list of their financial supporters, making it likely that thousands of strangers moved by her plight will receive a steady stream of solicitations from anti-abortion and conservative groups.

Or this?

My 89-year old great-aunt had her bag stolen from her hospital room last week while she was in the room, although she wasn't very alert, having pneumonia and such. This is the latest in a line of pilferings and accidental losses stretching back for months at various care facilities. Past vanished items include earrings and a favorite ring. But last week's thief takes the cake.

To him or her I say, Congratulations. You now own a sweater, bathrobe and great-nephew photos from a patient with a transmissible, antibiotic-resistant staph infection. Use your new treasures in good health and next time, don't steal from someone in an isolation room.