TY - JOUR T1 - The proof of the vegetable: a commentary on medical futility. JF - Journal of Medical Ethics JO - J Med Ethics SP - 205 LP - 208 DO - 10.1136/jme.21.4.205 VL - 21 IS - 4 AU - C Borthwick Y1 - 1995/08/01 UR - http://jme.bmj.com/content/21/4/205.abstract N2 - 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. ER -