Word: functional
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...THAT THE SAME AS BEING BRAIN DEAD? No. Brain death occurs when there is no activity anywhere in the brain. In PVS, certain primitive regions of the brain, including the brain stem, which controls autonomic functions such as breathing and the beating of the heart, are still alive. However, the cortex, which is the thinking part of the cerebrum, and/or the thalamus, which connects the brain stem to the cortex, are so badly damaged that they no longer function...
...accurate. (Schiavo's parents have argued that their daughter is minimally conscious.) A recent study using specialized brain scans found near normal activity levels in the cortical language centers of some such patients when their loved ones spoke to them, indicating they may retain the potential for cognitive function. Patients in a minimally conscious state are also more likely to improve and benefit from therapy than those in a vegetative state...
...saga of Terri Schiavo has touched many Americans directly, prompting them to relive difficult decisions they've already made or can contemplate making. That the case became so celebrated, though, is a function of its atypicality. Relatives faced with a situation like Schiavo's, in which the patient has no living will, very often differ about what to do, physicians say, but rarely do the factions become so unmovable and determined to prevail as did Schiavo's husband and parents. Instead, one side usually gives in. Will the Schiavo case change that? Though Schiavo's parents were able...
...decide whether someone else’s life is worth living? The implications of saying that Schiavo is merely a vegetable are monumental for people with mental and/or physical disabilities. Do their legal guardians have the authority to terminate their lives just because they don’t function “normally” in society? People retain their human dignity regardless of their capacity to function. Schiavo’s case has the potential to set a discriminatory precedent for similar cases...
Some people, especially of strong religious faiths, believe that the administration of artificial nutrition and hydration is somehow different from the administration of other medical treatments. But look at it this way. Schiavo’s body can no longer function, and the tube inserted into her stomach is one high-tech method of picking up where her body has failed. This administration of artificial nutrition and hydration is just like using a ventilator to take over when a person cannot breathe on his or her own. It’s a medical means of substituting for a bodily function?...