Scientists studying people in minimally conscious states have
published the results of brain scans showing that these people
can retain a surprising amount of brain activity. The New York
Times and MSNBC, among others, have written up accounts. I
profiled these scientists for a 2003 article in the New York
Times Magazine, when they were at an earlier stage in their
research. Things certainly have changed since then. When my
article came out, hardly anyone had heard of Terri Schiavo, the
Florida woman in a permanent vegetative state who is at the
center of a battle between her parents, who want to keep her
feeding tube in, and her husband, who wants it taken out. Since
then, her case has made national headlines, and a law has been
passed in her name. I for one will be keeping close attention to
how this new paper is received (and used) in the debate over
Terri Schiavo, because I had the displeasure of watching my
article get pulled into the debate and distorted for political
ends. The key point to bear in mind