Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site rabbit.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!alice!rabbit!jj From: jj@rabbit.UUCP Newsgroups: net.abortion Subject: Re: question is not irrelevant Message-ID: <2594@rabbit.UUCP> Date: Mon, 12-Mar-84 13:26:27 EST Article-I.D.: rabbit.2594 Posted: Mon Mar 12 13:26:27 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 13-Mar-84 08:35:17 EST References: <217@ihnp1.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill Lines: 26 For a bit of clarification, let's assume that I operate under the following generality: "Once human, always human, until death." That very neatly separates the question of what happens to a person on a heart lung machine. The definition of death is still sticky, and I'll stipulate that. My own somewhat shaky (due to the lack of the human being to forsee the future) definition is that any human is dead if and ONLY if there is no chance that that person can ever function again in any capacity other than a repository for not yet expired bodily organs. I.E. Someone who's cerebral cortex has been totally destroyed is no longer human, even if their heart, lungs, digestive system, and so on are completely intact, but someone in a coma who has a chance of becoming functional again is still alive.-- TEDDY BEARS ARE NICER THAN PEOPLE-- HUG YOUR OWN TODAY ! (allegra,harpo,ulysses)!rabbit!jj