On Death, Dying, and Decisions

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Abstract
Brain death is a concept of recent concern. Formerly, death was validated when the heart stopped beating. With modern technology, such as pacemakers, ventilators, and cardiopulmonary machines able to sustain the heart, physicians and the public have become concerned about prolonging existence after massive brain destruction. Out of this concern came the concept of "death with dignity" and the "right to die." Since cardiac transplantation required a viable heart, and since the brain was found to be the key to "meaningful existence," a new definition of death was derived. That definition included "sufficient damage to the brain that it would not recover."

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