RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The proof of the vegetable: a commentary on medical futility. JF Journal of Medical Ethics JO J Med Ethics FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics SP 205 OP 208 DO 10.1136/jme.21.4.205 VO 21 IS 4 A1 C Borthwick YR 1995 UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/21/4/205.abstract 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.