Death plea case rejected by judge

Story here

A High Court Judge has ruled that a brain-damaged woman should not be allowed to die, in what is being seen as a landmark case. The woman, who is 52 and can be referred to only as M, is in what is known as a "Minimally Conscious State".

How do you feel about this?
How would one define minimally conscious?
If you were to be in a vegetative state on the border of becoming conscious but never breaking the threshold, would you want your life prolonged or would you rather not be a burden?

I find it slightly irritating that they're thinking of not giving cancer treatments to people to prolong their lives, but this woman is being kept alive and they don't know how long she could possibly survive in this state anyway. Would it not be kinder to her and her family to end it?

What do you think?

I think this is disgusting, we are supposed to be an advanced nation, but we give more respect to animals than we do to our own species.


Maybe the medical profession want to keep her alive to use her as a lab rat to test on.

reply to post by Lulzaroonie


I never want to be a burden.

I've instructed my family, if there is some hope of my recovery, give me a shot at it, but once I become a burden, pull the plug, or send my wheel chair down the elevator shaft or something. I don't want the plug pulled immediately, but I also don't want to be a burden. Let me die with some dignity.

The whole Terry Schiavo case was horrendous. Nobody was right or wrong, but plastering her all over the cable networks and newspapers was extremely wrong. If someone is willing to take care of the person, they should be allowed to do so. Pulling the plug should take a unanimous decision by the loved ones.

This is and always will be a tough question.. If she personally wants to die because she feels tortured then fair enough.. but she isn't conscious enough to make that decision right? So who is? The Family?.. Maybe. But they still really have no right to choose whether she lives or dies. THAT BEING SAID, if anyone has to choose then it should definitely be the family.

You never know this woman could be having the time of her life in complete ecstasy. Her brain could be flooding with '___' from the pineal gland and she could be experiencing complete bliss. On the other hand she could be in complete mental anguish and possible physically torment.

We don't know that's the problem..

If she was in the wild she would die because of the incapability to fend for herself. But in this society?.. I don't think anyone has the right to keep her alive OR kill her.

Its a controversial subject..

I can only assume the woman is just lying in a hospital bed dreaming her life away, or whatever happens when you are comatose.
I understand the preservation of life is important, but if you are not living your life and it looks likely that you will not be able to continue living in a conscious state, how is this judgement fair?
I would not like to while my years away in a bed, not being able to see my family grow up and not be able to grow old with someone, sentimental perhaps, but things that people would miss out on.
Eight and a half years of being severely brain damaged and vegetative is not living

Originally posted by Lulzaroonie
I can only assume the woman is just lying in a hospital bed dreaming her life away, or whatever happens when you are comatose.
I understand the preservation of life is important, but if you are not living your life and it looks likely that you will not be able to continue living in a conscious state, how is this judgement fair?
I would not like to while my years away in a bed, not being able to see my family grow up and not be able to grow old with someone, sentimental perhaps, but things that people would miss out on.
Eight and a half years of being severely brain damaged and vegetative is not living

For all you know she could be having the time of her life. She could be living in an infinite dream-scape where the possibilities are endless. If you had to choose between death and the best dream of your life what would you choose? Oh wait you can't choose because someone else is choosing for you.

I don't hold an express opinion on this matter but you have to see the two sides to the story.. Its such a controversial subject that there isn't really one definitive 'Right answer'.

Wikipedia says this: Patients with severe brain damage may progress through stages of unconsciousness with eyes closed (coma), to unconsciousness with eyes open (vegetative state), to a stage of "inconsistent, erratic responsiveness" (minimally conscious state)

With that in mind, I would find it incredibly hard to have made the judgement to let her pass away.
Being that she has been this way for 8 years, there's no knowing what she responds to, touch, noise etc.

It also says this: A minimally conscious state (MCS) is a disorder of consciousness distinct from coma or the vegetative state,[1] in which a patient exhibits deliberate, or cognitively mediated, behavior[2] often enough, or consistently enough, for clinicians to be able to distinguish it from entirely unconscious, reflexive responses.

Very difficult to decide indeed.
I don't think she would get better and she will most likely remain this way for the rest of her life. Understanding what minimal consciousness describes, it's a scary prospect to be handed this hugely responsible task

did it ever occur to anyone that they possibly are keeping her alive in the case that she pulls through, wouldn't you want people to have faith that you will pull through?

Or would you like to be thrown out like an old phone thats battery is on its last life cycle? (but one last charge

Answer with the upmost honesty please!

I would prefer to left to fight my way back, what if they pulled the plug and i died but in an alternate reality they didn't pull the plug and i pull through two days later?

This will give the family a chance to really pray that she pulls through, to hope that she opens her eyes again.

No one has the right to judge anyone on things like these unless they have been in the same situation.


The court does not have the overall decision is that of a family member, even if she had no close family, a distant relative would then be given this decision.

reply to post by ShadowZion


My bad, wrote before reading.

Shows my flaws

peace

My grandfather had a cycling accident a few years back and sided up as a quadriplegic. Despite his numerous requests to pull the plug while nearly dying half a dozen times the family thought it was necessary to continue reviving him over and over. He was in constant pain and couldn't move. He endured this for ten months before his body finally gave up. After witnessing this I never wish anyone to go through something like this. Pull the damn plug if that's what they want.

I do alot of work in old age homes sometimes. Stupid selfish families who keep their loved ones who are but a shell of their former selves alive indefinitely.. at the cost of the taxpayer and the emotional stress of the family.