Ethics, brain damage and ending lives.
The problem of patients in the persistent vegetative state is beset by complex ethical and philosophical issues to do with the nature of persons and our ethical duties towards them. Many discussions obscure the main ethical considerations. In this paper, I approach the problem through a philosophical analysis of the concept of a person and the attributes that ground our ethical responsibilities to persons. I argue that we are under no ethical obligation to continue lifesustaining treatment for patients properly diagnosed as being in the persistent vegetative state or with other severe brain damaged conditions. This, of course, is compatible with our trying to do our best for such patients until the prognosis is clear.
Gillett
G
G
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Otago, Dunedin, USA.