Declawed cats get chewed up if you let them outside. Claws are a cats only realistic defence mechanism in the wild.
I wouldn't feel bad about declawing inside only cats, but keep in mind, cats live exponentially longer if they get regular exercize, and if your too lazy to walk them, its far easyer to just let them outside so they get the exercize themselfs (they stay healthier too).
None of my cats are declawed, I just teach them as kittens to not claw humans. They all play and act compleatly normally, they just never dig thier claws into you.