THE VEGETATIVE AND MINIMALLY CONSCIOUS STATES - ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS

Modern medical technology has created new syndromes of severe and perm anent brain damage. In the first 25 years of the right-to-die debate, the permanent vegetative state has been the paradigmatic neurologic sy ndrome for decisions to discontinue treatment. In the near future, how ever, a far more problematic syndrome may be even more important in th e right-to-die debate, the minimally conscious state. This paper prese nts a few of the medical and ethical similarities and differences betw een the permanent vegetative and minimally conscious states and discus ses how value-laden these decisions may become in the future.