A person who is unconscious is still sentient. That's why we can press assault and murder charges against some one who abuses a helpless person. We still have respect for their humanity if they can't articulate anything to the rest of us. That is what is at stake in this debate - how we treat the least of us among us.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)