Persistent vegetative state

A persistent vegetative state is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness.

Quotes

• If there was anyone who actually fit the category of conservative, if there was such a category of people, they would have a very easy way to deal with the fact that 60% of the children under 2 [in Nicaragua] are suffering probable brain damage. Namely, by paying their debts. Simple conservative principle. But that's beyond unthinkable. Compassionate conservatives might want to go beyond that, if they existed. But they're much more interested in making political capital over the fact that a woman in a vegetative state shouldn't be allowed to die in dignity.
  • Noam ChomskyTalk at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, March 22, 2005 [1]

• Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the next generation of science. The Agnate, an organic frame engineered directly into adulthood to match the client's age. You're looking at stage one - the development stage. Within 12 months, it'll be harvest-ready, providing a carrier of your baby, second pair of lungs, fresh skin - all genetically indistinguishable from your own and in compliance with the Eugenics Laws of 2015, all our Agnates are maintained in a persistent vegetative state. They never achieve conciousness. They never think or suffer or feel pain, joy, love, hate. It's a product, ladies and gentlemen, in every way that matters. Not Human!
  • Dr. Merrick in The Island (2005)