Another Case of Person Thought to be ‘Vegetative’ Diagnosed Incorrectly
Yet Court Refused Similar Tests for Terri Schiavo Contact: Mary Foley, The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, 484-278-4287, mfoley@lifeandhope.com
Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 14 / -- Newspapers report, Man in ‘Vegetative State’ Communicates, He's Not in Pain.
An article published by the BBC states:
“A Canadian man who was believed to have been in a vegetative state for more than a decade, has been able to tell scientists that he is not in any pain. It's the first time an uncommunicative, severely brain-injured patient has been able to give answers clinically relevant to their care. Scott Routley, 39, was asked questions while having his brain activity scanned in an fMRI machine. His doctor says the discovery means medical textbooks will need rewriting.”
The family of Terri Schindler Schiavo argued in court to allow similar tests to be performed on Terri before making the irreversible decision to dehydrate and starve her to death. The pleas of Terri’s family were denied by Florida Circuit Court Judge, George W. Greer, who became the final medical authority in Terri Schiavo’s diagnosis. His decision was court-ordered dehydration and starvation.
“This new finding, along with a growing list of additional research validating the inaccuracies of the persistent vegetative state (PVS) diagnosis, will hopefully save lives, as we are repeatedly seeing a increasing number of people incorrectly diagnosed as being in a ‘PVS’. As in the case of Terri, the PVS diagnosis is all too often used as a criterion to deliberately end the lives of the cognitively disabled and common sense dictates that it needs to be abolished,” stated Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Schiavo and Executive Director of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network.
About the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network: Terri's Life & Hope Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group dedicated to helping the medically vulnerable who are facing life-threatening situations. For more information visit:www.lifeandhope.com
