Ethics in the Media

8/2/2019 Ethics in the Media

1/3

Blake Peters010506513

Vegetative States

One of the most controversial ethical debates involves the decisions made by

others regarding the life of someone in a vegetative state. A vegetative state is defined as

a coma-like state characterized by open eyes and the appearance of wakefulness (Goetz,

1999). The ethical controversy comes into play when family or close ones to the patient

have to make a decision on allowing the person to live on life support, or to pull the

plug. Often times vegetative states are caused by unexpected accidents or trauma,

meaning most victims havent specified yet in their will or to others what their personal

decision would be in the matter. The decision then falls on relatives of the patient. While

some argue that no one would want to live the rest of their life on a machine with no

interaction with the outside world, others argue that it isnt anyones decision to make but

the actual person in the vegetative state. The problem there lies in the fact that we have

no way of finding out what that person wants. One of the most famous cases involved a

patient named Terry Schiavo, who was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state.

The case turned into a seven year trial, before the courts finally ordered Schiavo to be

taken off life support. Her parents fought for life prolonging treatments but in the end

failed. The courts claimed quality of life was very low, and that it was ethically wrong to

keep her living. To add to the debate, recent findings have found that 1 in 5 people in a

vegetative state still have brain activity (McLean, 2010).

. In my opinion I would not want to be hooked up to a machine my whole life

without any interaction with others, but that is my personal decision. The right decision to

make would be that in the best interest of the person in the vegetative state. Since the


2/3


majority of the time this isnt known, the ethical decision falls in the hands of relatives. It

is important for the relatives to really weigh this decision hard. On one hand, no one

wants to end the life of someone they are close to, and maybe the patient wants them to

keep fighting for them. On the other hand living your life hooked up to a machine is no

way to live. Although you might not want to let them go, you have to do what you feel is

in their best interest. Some may think its selfish to keep someone in a vegetative state

alive just so you dont have to let them go. There is no right or wrong answer. There will

probably always be a huge debate when it comes to this topic. In the end, you have

consider the kind of person they were and what you think they would want.


3/3


References

1. Goetz, Christopher G., et al, editors. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. 1st ed. W. B.

Saunders Company, 1999. Retrieved from http://medical-

dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/vegetative+state

2. McLean, S. (2010). The ethical dilemma of vegetative states. The Guardian, Retrieved

from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/05/vegetative-state-

consciousness-ethics
http://medical/http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/05/vegetative-statehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/05/vegetative-statehttp://medical/

Documents

Ethics in the Media