"Now, this week, a conference is being convened in Rome that's expected to recommend maintaining life support even for people in a 'permanent vegetative state' without any discernible brain functions."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6999966/site/newsweek/
Coma or no coma, NO ONE should be starved to death. Nor should a deliberate end be placed upon anyone. They should be cared for until there lives come to a natural finish, just like the rest of us.