This debate is a very slippery slope.....BUT...for example...when you look at a dude that's been smoking for 30 years, knowing what we know about cigarettes, and develops lung cancer. And on the other hand, you get an 8 year old kid that develops leukemia, who did nothing wrong....it's not hard to see why people sympathize differently when comparing the two.
I think that's the spirit of this general debate. Going into a potentially dangerous situation with your eyes wide open is viewed differently than being blindsided by something you couldn't see coming.
I'm not taking a stance one way or the other with Doc, cause I don't know enough about his personal life...I was just stating from a high level perspective.