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Wednesday November 12, 2003
Diagnosis of Persistent Vegetative State Questioned as Former Patient Speaks Out
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TAMPA BAY, November 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The case of disabled Florida woman Terri Schiavo, who has been falsely labelled as being in a "persistent vegetative state" (PVS) by most major media outlets, has drawn attention to the controversial diagnosis which suggests the medical state is permanent. Even those who contend that PVS is a viable diagnosis suggest that patients are frequently misdiagnosed as being in PVS.
According to a study published in the July 6, 1996 British Medical Journal, 43% of patients diagnosed with PVS do not qualify for the diagnosis.
Last week Kate Adamson appeared on the programme O'Reilly Factor to relate she was diagnosed as being in a vegetative state and, like Terri Schiavo, her feeding tube was removed, only to be reinserted after eight days after her lawyer-husband threatened to sue the hospital if they did not reinsert it. Adamson also refuted the testimony of Terri's husband Michael Schiavo who suggested that PVS patients do not feel the pain of starvation.
O'Reilly asked Adamson, "So you were feeling pain when they removed your tube?" She responded, "Yes. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. To say that -- especially when Michael [Schiavo] on national TV had mentioned last week that it's a pretty painless thing to have the feeding tube removed. It is the exact opposite. It was sheer torture, Bill."
See the O'Reilly factor exchange in this article by Wesley J. Smith:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/370oqiwy.asp
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