understandable if patients, or those empowered to make medical decisions for them, decide against symptom care in such circumstances and elect respect care only. They should not be hindered from doing so. However, since such patients are still alive by commonly accepted criteria, it is also ethically appropriate for permanently unconscious patients to receive the same symptom care given to all other terminal patients who are not imminently dying. Such symptom care can also be elected out of respect
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