[syriacus]

The Goodman column mentions that Terri's brain, unlike the brain of the woman who mentally plays tennis, suffered from oxygen deprivation. I think the longish article about the people who have gained increased consciousness after receiving a sleeping pill mentioned that one of those patients suffered oxygen deprivation.

BTW, the pro-death crowd (as usual) wants to have it both ways

A. On the one hand they want to determine if a patient is worthy of being kept alive by relying on signs of activity in the patient's brain

B. On the other hand signs of activity in the brain of a patient aren't good enough to preserve the patient's life, if the patient has little use of her body.

In other words, your brain has to be active in order for your life to have any worth AND, at the same time, having an active brain is not good enough to endow your life with worth.

The vaunted "brain activity" threshhold, for being allowed to live, is negated by the very people who demand it.

[floriduh voter]

And, the liberals know beyond a reasonable doubt that Terri's life wasn't worth living. In that case, they should volunteer on suicide hot lines. It's the same kind of work actually, taking out people who just need help.