And here lies our problem.
Apparently Dr. Cranfield makes a career out of advocating death in these situations. He also had some influence in developing the criteria for diagnosis of PVS. Which, itself has come into question.
IMO this guy is selling snakeoil to push an ideology. Not going to evoke Eugenics, but I wouldn't be surprised. Margret Sanger Award nominee in my opinion.
http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles5/JohansenSchiavo.shtml
and from
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/313/7048/13
Misdiagnosis of the vegetative state: retrospective study in a rehabilitation unit
Keith Andrews, director of medical services,a Lesley Murphy, senior clinical psychologist,a Ros Munday, senior occupational therapist,a Clare Littlewood, senior occupational therapist a
a Royal Hospital for Neurodisability, London SW15 3SW
Abstract
Objective: To identify the number of patients who were misdiagnosed as being in the vegetative state and their characteristics.
Design: Retrospective study of the clinical records of the medical, occupational therapy, and clinical psychology departments.
Setting: 20 bed unit specialising in the rehabilitation of patients with profound brain damage, including the vegetative state.
Subjects: 40 patients admitted between 1992 and 1995 with a referral diagnosis of vegetative state.
Outcome measures: Patients who showed an ability to communicate consistently using eye pointing or a touch sensitive single switch buzzer.
Results: Of the 40 patients referred as being in the vegetative state, 17 (43%) were considered as having been misdiagnosed; seven of these had been presumed to be vegetative for longer than one year, including three for over four years. Most of the misdiagnosed patients were blind or severely visually impaired. All patients remained severely physically disabled, but nearly all were able to communicate their preference in quality of life issues--some to a high level.
Conclusions: The vegetative state needs considerable skill to diagnose, requiring assessment over a period of time; diagnosis cannot be made, even by the most experienced clinician, from a bedside assessment. Accurate diagnosis is possible but requires the skills of a multidisciplinary team experienced in the management of people with complex disabilities. Recognition of awareness is essential if an optimal quality of life is to be achieved and to avoid inappropriate approaches to the courts for a declaration for withdrawal of tube feeding.
Dr. Ronald Cranford of the University of Minnesota, has repeatedly dismissed calls for MRI testing, and his opinion has prevailed.
When Minnesota policeman Sgt. David Mack was shot in the line of duty in 1979, Dr. Ronald Cranford diagnosed his patient as being in a "persistent vegetative state," never to regain "cognitive, sapient functioning." Dr. Cranford was ready to end his patient's life, but 20 months after the shooting, Sgt. Mack regained consciousness and nearly all of his mental ability....
---Dr. Ronald Cranford, a professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota who examined Schiavo in 2002, added: "The chances of her waking up or benefiting from treatment are zero."If you are in a room with Schiavo, her eyes do not track you, Cranford said....
Nancy Cruzan did not even require a feeding tube: She could be spoon-fed. But Cranford advocated denying even that, saying that even spoon-feeding constituted “medical treatment” that could be licitly withdrawn....
http://swdesertrat.blogspot.com/2005/03/michael-schiavos-star-witness-dr.html
Perfect "expert" witness for the attornies for Michael Schrivo
In published articles, including a 1997 op-ed in the Minneapolis–St. Paul Star Tribune, he has advocated the starvation of Alzheimer’s patients. He has described PVS patients as indistinguishable from other forms of animal life. He has said that PVS patients and others with brain impairment lack personhood and should have no constitutional rights. Perusing the case literature and articles surrounding the “right to die” and PVS, one will see Dr. Cranford’s name surface again and again. In almost every case, he is the one claiming PVS, and advocating the cessation of nutrition and hydration.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/779/23033.html