Ethical issues with disorder of consciousness (DOD) include:

A. Patients in coma, vegetative, or minimally conscious state pose ethical challenges. The patients are unable to respond, therefore the assessment of their needs can only be approached by adopting a third person perspective. DODs present a variety of ethical concerns. Most obvious is the lack of consent in any treatment decisions. Social issues arise from the enormous costs that are caused by people with DOD.
B. Neuroscience & brain imaging have allowed us to explore the brain activity of these patients more thoroughly. Recent findings from studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging have changed the way we view vegetative patients.
C. The images have shown that aspects emotional processing, language comprehension, & even conscious awareness might be retained in patients whose behavior suggests a vegetative state. If this is the case, it is unethical to allow a third party to dictate the life & future of the patient.
Defining death is an issue that comes with patients with severe traumatic brain injuries. The decision to withdraw life-sustaining care from these patients can be based on uncertain assessments about the individual's conscious awareness. Case reports have shown that these patients in a persistent vegetative state can recover unexpectedly. This raises the ethical question about the premature termination of care by physicians.