End of life issue and question

[Bill the Cat]

I was watching one of those "Medical Shows" on cable last night (actually, I was rubbing my wife's sore feet and she was watching it against my wishes :brood:) and they had a kid in a coma, and the doctor declared that there was an 85% chance that he would come out of the coma with little to no ill effects. Should the parents have a right to pull the plug on the 15% chance that he does not recover?

[Crow]

No.

I can understand and I would "pull the plug" on a family member who was in a coma with no chance of ever regaining consciousness, even on a severely limited basis. Then I would donate their organs to help others live if they were usable and it wasn't against their expressed wishes when they had been conscious.

But if someone still has a chance, they ought to be given that chance. Heck, we do major surgery if there's a 15% chance it might save someone's life. How nuts is it to deny medical treatment if there's an 85% chance the patient will recover?

[SteveF]

I'm inclined to say no. Haven't thought much about euthanasia type issues though.

[Ryokan]

Not in this case. It really is a case by case thing.

[Bill the Cat]

:bump: