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We don't know the woman's vegetative state, though we do know that she was moaning when the baby was born, which indicates that there's some brain activity.
I've read about people who get "locked in", which is a horrifying situation. They're actually conscious and can see and hear and feel things, but they can't communicate in any way.
So just for the sake of discussion, that you were "locked in" at the age of 18 or so, due to some accident or medical thing. So you lie motionless in your nursing home bed day after day after day for years. You can hear people talk, but you can't move, can't communicate, and you can only look up at the ceiling. You can't eat so you get fed through a tube. Your only human contact is when the nurse comes in and cleans you up every day.
Now imagine that on some quiet night eight years after your arrival, a night shift nurse comes in, shuts the door, and engages in sex with you. Assume for these purposes that the nurse is the gender that you like, but is not attractive.
Would you be horrified? Or would you be grateful for the contact? Remember that you can think perfectly fine. It's you inside your body, but you just can't communicate or move in any way.
And now imagine that the nurse (or you, if you're a woman) gets pregnant? What's your reaction?
As screwed up as it is, it might actually be a positive thing if I was that person. It would create my legacy, and it would give me someone to think about. If the kid was brought to visit me every year, it would be a highlight even if I couldn't do anything but see and hear them.
Now, I'm not saying at all that it would be the right thing for the nurse to do. It's clearly the wrong thing, and horrifyingly wrong from the viewpoint of society. Further, I'm presenting this as a hypothetical that has nothing to do with the real-life case, because I have no idea of this woman's mental condition.
But as a hypothetical, what do you think?
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