Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman whose husband and parents are battling over whether to let her die or keep her alive, exists in the rare and paradoxical "persistent vegetative state," ...

Those who don’t are considered to be in a persistent vegetative state. Patients who suffer heart attacks or strokes, like Schiavo, have a much more widespread death of brain cells because of lack of ...

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4555767/4555768" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> NPR's ...

Is there any doubt that Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state? Yes, argue those fighting to keep her alive, including Gov. Jeb Bush. Doctors have sparred about this before in court, and ...

Catholic hospitals in the United States are deliberating whether to uphold Pope John Paul II’s latest teaching on treatment offered to patients who are in a persistent vegetative state. Last month, ...

While serving a search warrant on a December afternoon in 1979, Minneapolis police Officer David Mack was shot in the neck and abdomen, triggering a cascade of events that left him in a persistent ...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A report that a sedative has the contrary side effect of reviving patients in a what has been termed a “persistent vegetative state” (PVS) has sparked calls for a moratorium on ...

Slate senior editor Andy Bowers explains "persistent vegetative state" — the term doctors have used to describe Terri Schiavo's condition. The Florida woman suffered severe brain damage a decade ago, ...

News of a woman in a vegetative state for more than a decade giving birth to a boy on December 29 has stirred emotions nationwide. The rare medical event raises many questions, including: How can a ...

A cognitively impaired woman at a nursing facility in Arizona gave birth to a baby last month, prompting a sexual-assault investigation and a cascade of news reports. When the 29-year-old patient at ...

PHILADELPHIA — For two decades, car-crash victim Rom Houben lay paralyzed and voiceless in what his doctors thought was a vegetative state. He appeared to be awake, but showed no signs of awareness.