Vegetative Yet Communicative
February 4th, 2010 by ComputerBob
Here’s some news that promises to be a legal, ethical and emotional double-edged sword for anyone who currently has — or who has ever had — a loved in a persistent vegetative state.
“Scientists have been able to reach into the mind of a brain-damaged man and communicate with his thoughts.
The research, carried out in the UK and Belgium, involved a new brain scanning method.
Awareness was detected in three other patients previously diagnosed as being in a vegetative state.
The study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that scans can detect signs of awareness in patients thought to be closed off from the world.”
Though it may bring hope to some people, this news is probably going to cause others to doubt and second-guess the life-and-death decisions that they’ve previously made regarding loved ones who were in persistent vegetative states.
I hope that those people will take comfort in the fact that, when faced with tough choices, the best, most loving thing you can do is always whatever you believe to be in the best interest of your loved one, based on what you know at the time — not based on what you think you might have had the ability to find out in the future.
Permalink:
http://www.computerbob.com/wp/vegetative-yet-communicative.php