  One way to rescue the idea that the former self and its interests ought to have priority is to appeal to the special authority of the former self over the current self. The grounds of this authority are cashed out differently in different views, but the basic thought is that the former self's superior capacities give her standing to govern the current self. Once the current self falls below a certain threshold of capacity, her interests in her current state are so marginal as to no longer be authoritative for how she ought to be cared for, and the interests of the earlier self trump.