From Patricia Shannon
In your article on using scanning methods to communicate with people in vegetative states (24 August 2013, p 14), Lorena Naci says caution would be required when giving patients a say in their care: “If they are depressed or not emotionally healthy, we wouldn’t necessarily act on their wishes,” she says, as an impaired decision-making process and a depressed outlook might well be clouding their judgement.
It would hardly be surprising or irrational for someone in such a condition to be depressed. Depression is misery. Forcing a person to remain alive in that state is cruel.
Norcross, Georgia, US
