Legal consequences and ethical dilemmas of pain perception in persistent vegetative states

"Persistent vegetative state" (PVS) describes brain-damaged patients who survive their injuries in a sleeplike, insensible state, with periodic awakenings. Due to technological advances, such individuals can sustain biological existence for prolonged periods of time. Their existence results in a dichotomy between the legal and medical interpretations of persistent vegetative states, giving rise to ethical conflicts. The author reviews the limitations in our understanding of what PVS signifies for the afflicted individual, and explores the conflicts arising from such limitations that may impact an individual's right to live or die. The author concludes that the medical community has yet to adopt consistent clinical criteria to diagnose PVS and that a universal standard for PVS is needed to avoid the abuse of vegetative individuals' rights.