A person in a Permanent Vegetative State (PVS) has suffered trauma to the parts of the brain that govern higher brain functions but not to those parts of the brain and nervous system that govern basic biological functions. The person cannot think, is not conscious and is not aware of her surroundings. However, the person still breathes, circulates blood and digests food and will continue to live as long as they are fed and hydrated with a feeding tube. That state is considered permanent because it is virtually impossible for the person to regain the higher brain functioning. The person, however, is not considered “brain dead.”
Suppose that a famous professional athlete Dora has had severe brain trauma as a result of a car accident and is in a permanent vegetative state.
Is the athlete Dora who won several National Championships in her sport that same person as the PVS patent Dora?
My comment was too long, so here's a link to a google doc:
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1-AFwOFiLlGDgNP-kRA7y3s_BEWK8Anb2qJTa9_bnoLU/edit?usp=sharing