Public Policy of the Brain Injury Network

Approved by the Board of Directors 9-9-12

Laws to Protect People with Brain Injuries: Nutrition and Hydration (i.e., Food and Water); Feeding Tubes

Brain Injury Network supports laws that will protect individuals with brain injuries. We encourage the adoption of laws everywhere to ensure that nutrition and hydration (i.e., food and water) is not denied to persons who are in coma, persistent vegetative state (PVS) [also referred to as Persistent Wakeful but Unaware State (PWUS)], or locked-in syndrome (LIS).  People have a right to the basic necessities of life when they are incapacitated.

We do not agree that a feeding tube is an artificial life-support device. We do not agree that a tube feeding is an extraordinary means of keeping individuals alive. We believe that feeding tubes merely provide basic sustenance and as such should not be withheld or removed from helpless human beings. 

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