Monday, November 14, 2011

New Consciousness Test Won’t Stop Dehydrations Without a Change in Values

New Consciousness Test Won’t Stop Dehydrations Without a Change in Values | NRL News Today: The criteria [for PVS] should change. We should also change the name of the diagnosis to “persistent unconscious state,” rather than “vegetative state.” None of us is a carrot or turnip. Calling someone vegetative or the dreaded V-word–-which should join the N-word [and the R-word] as an unutterable–-demeans, diminishes, dehumanizes, and degrades the moral value of the patient.

We’ve known for years that PVS is often misdiagnosed, but don’t expect learning that a patient is conscious to lead many bioethicists to advocate against their dehydration.

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