Posted on 10/05/2006 3:49:28 PM PDT by wagglebee
MELBOURNE, Australia, October 5, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Patients designated as in a “persistent vegetative state (PVS)” should be used for medical experiments, according to several top bioethicists, regardless of whether or not prior consent was obtained.
Several articles published in the recent issue of the Journal of Medical debated the potential use of patients with non-responsive brain function for such medical experiments as animal organ transplants—to bypass ethic prohibitions against using a living human being for medical experimentation, some even suggested designating such patients as “dead,” saying their cognitive impairments justified treating them as cadavers.
Dr. John Shea, medical advisor to Campaign Life Coalition, told LifeSiteNews.com it would never be ethically or morally acceptable to use a living human being for medical research without their permission, regardless of their level of cognitive function.
“A person who has PVS is not dead! If you claim to respect the sacredness of human life, you can’t use a human person for medical experimentation—that would be grossly immoral.”
In fact, little is understood about the capacity for awareness and understanding of people suffering from severe cognitive impairment, Dr. Shea said. Documented cases of patients who have unexpectedly “woken up” from a supposedly permanent PVS state have refuted the argument that their condition is irreversible. (See: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jul/06070409.html)
Dr. Steven Curry of the University of Melbourne, who supports experiments using PVS patients, said it would be too difficult to convince the public that PVS patients were “dead”, according to commentary by the bioethics news watch BioEdge on Oct. 3.
Regardless, he said, their bodies should be used for medical research. Repeating a common fallacy of the bioethics debate on PVS, Curry stated that such patients will not recover. “Those who are in a PVS will not ever wake up, they feel no pain or discomfort and have no continuing interest in their own survival…”
While making the argument that PVS patients have no right to mental autonomy since they have no apparent functioning mental capacity, Dr. Curry excused the medical “use” of their bodies by suggesting such patients should be allowed to choose to donate their bodies for the good of science, saying, “…these patients must also have a right to risk that life for the common good.”
As a further basis for his argument, Dr. Curry stated that PVS patients’ inability to bear children and their lack of any capacity for movement justified the “possible confinement” caused by experimentation.
“Also,” he said, “no risk of withdrawal of consent exists.” While stating that obtaining prior agreement to experimentation would be preferable, he pointed out that such agreements would be unlikely, since few people would anticipate living in a “comatose” state for several years.
Dr. Curry would support permitting family members to give permission for a comatose relative to be used for medical experimentation, “with reference to the person’s values and stated preferences.”
Read commentary from the Australasian bioethics newsletter:
http://www.australasianbioethics.org/Newsletters/currentbioe...
See related LifeSiteNews coverage:
Man Wakes from Two-Year Coma – was Aware and Remembers Everything
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/oct/05100604.html
New study questions “brain-death” criterion for organ donation
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/sep/06091502.html
It's a frightening irony.
Has nobody ever informed you that you're suppose to PING a person you're trashing?
This isn't a damn chat room. It's a news forum.
It's Nazi "newspeak" the left has been doing it forever, you use a term that is an absolute lie, but sooner or later people start believing it. Take "Planned Parenthood" their "plan" is for as much hedonistic sex as possible and for NOBODY to ever be a parent.
We should use bio "ethicists" for medical experiments.
Looks like Mengele was just a bit ahead of his time. The Japanese who ran Unit 731 would just love this guy. The fuits of legal abortion keep springing up to take us further down the road to barbarism.
I have the PERFECT solution.
Use condemned criminals for medical experiments. Once they're sentenced to death (and after umpteen appeals) use 'em up in medical experiments, instead of wasting (executing) them.
A typical post from the the biker babe. You really are classless.
Little rules like that mean nothing to these people.
I see "its" posts have been removed. Good.
What did "it" have to say that made you so upset?
I still think that someone should introduce legislation to make starvation/dehydration the preferred form of capital punishment. After all, we have been assured that it is beautiful and euphoric.
The comments were deleted so if I repeated them here, they should be rightfully deleted as well.
Howlin is allowed to call me filthy names that she picks up at her anti-FReeper sites, but I'm not allowed to bold the letters of her name. as I’ve seen her to do with other freepers? Howlin started an anti-freepr site, for the purpose of trashing Jim Robinson, Free Republic, and FReepers, and for the additional purpose of interfering with a FReepathon. So why does she get special treatment? Why is she allowed to harass FReepers, and no one is allowed to speak out against it? I did not trash her, but merely pointed out the fact that she does what she is now doing on this thread.
What is this...a junior high school? Please stop whining. You posted about a couple of other Freepers, hiding their names using capitalized letters, instead of pinging them. How childish!
People disagree on many topics. That's part of discussion. This junior high nonsense is getting old.
Liar. I posted about several other FReepers, and referred specifically to only one. If you have problem with the person who made a reference to a different FReeper before me, take it up with them.
Ah, you were the one trashing me. I don't give you one thought until somebody pings me to one of your posts where you trash us.
The rest of your post has been dealt with and proved to be a lie.
But don't let that stop you from continuing to say it.
I guess you think we can't see your posts or read the thread to see how things have progressed here.
You are always welcome to start your own anti-Howlin site. No one is stopping you. You are not welcome to keep this petty nonsense up on FR.
KNOCK IT OFF or we'll do it for you.
Howlin, your post #80 has been removed.
See how that works? Now you're a liar.
This is what happens when people work out personal issues on FR.
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