Medical futility OR a variant of Buddhist belief?
Cho Fook Cheng, 72, was brain-dead after he suffered a cardiac arrest, but his body was kept functioning by a ventilator and cardiac medicines in a hospital near Boston. His doctor and nurses noted that his body was rapidly deteriorating. When his family was advised to stop further medical treatment, they refused and went to court. Reluctantly, they let his cardiac medications run out, so the patient could die. The family claimed that their religion, Buddhism, teaches that the brain is conscious as long as the heart is beating. [Megan Tench, Boston Globe, Dec. 3, 2006]
Not so, according to Mettanando Bhikku, MD, PhD, from Bangkok. “When the brain is dead, there can be no consciousness.”
Evidently, court proceedings will continue.
Not so, according to Mettanando Bhikku, MD, PhD, from Bangkok. “When the brain is dead, there can be no consciousness.”
Evidently, court proceedings will continue.
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