PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Borthwick, C TI - The proof of the vegetable: a commentary on medical futility. AID - 10.1136/jme.21.4.205 DP - 1995 Aug 01 TA - Journal of Medical Ethics PG - 205--208 VI - 21 IP - 4 4099 - http://jme.bmj.com/content/21/4/205.short 4100 - http://jme.bmj.com/content/21/4/205.full SO - J Med Ethics1995 Aug 01; 21 AB - Patients with 'persistent vegetative state' (PVS) are often cited in the discussions of ethicists as examples of human beings who are unconscious and do not experience life, and a number of theoretical and practical recommendations have been made on that basis. This article examines the evidence and the theoretical rationale for the belief that people with PVS are unconscious and finds them wanting. This conclusion is related to the practice of the discipline of ethics.