Articles
Shewmon DA: A critical analysis of conceptual domains of the vegetative state: Sorting fact from fancy. NeuroRehabilitation 19(4):343-347, 2004.
Shewmon DA: The dead donor rule: lessons from linguistics. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 14(3):277-300, 2004.
Shewmon DA: The brain and somatic integration: insights into the standard biological rationale for equating “brain death” with death. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 26(5):457-478, 2001. [feature article]
Shewmon DA: Is “brain death” actually death? An autobiographical conceptual itinerary. Aletheia 7:287-320, 2001.
Shewmon DA: Coma prognosis in children. Part II: Clinical application. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology 17(5):467-472, 2000.
Shewmon DA: Coma prognosis in children. Part I: Definitional and methodological challenges. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology 17(5):457-466, 2000.
Shewmon DA, Holmes GL, Byrne PA: Consciousness in congenitally decorticate children: “developmental vegetative state” as self-fulfilling prophecy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 41(6):364-374, 1999.
Shewmon DA: Spinal shock and ‘brain death’: somatic pathophysiological equivalence and implications for the integrative-unity rationale. Spinal Cord 37(5):313-324, 1999.
Shewmon DA: Chronic “brain death”: meta-analysis and conceptual consequences. Neurology 51(6):1538-1545, 1998. [feature article with accompanying editorial] (letters and reply, Neurology 53(6):1369-1372, 1999.)
Shewmon DA: “Brain-stem death”, “brain death” and death: a critical re-evaluation of the purported equivalence. Issues in Law & Medicine 14(2):125-145, 1998.
Shewmon DA: Recovery from “brain death”: a neurologist’s Apologia. Linacre Quarterly 64(1):30-96, 1997.
Ashwal S, Bale JF Jr, Coulter DL, Eiben R, Garg BP, Hill A, Myer EC, Nordgren RE, Shewmon DA, Sunder TR, Walker RW (The CNS Ethics Committee): The persistent vegetative state in children: Report of the Child Neurology Society Ethics Committee. Annals of Neurology 32(4):570-576, 1992.
Shewmon DA, Capron AM, Peacock WJ, Schulman BL: The use of anencephalic infants as organ sources: A critique. JAMA 261(12):1773-1781, 1989.
Shewmon DA, DeGiorgio CM: Early prognosis in anoxic coma: Reliability and rationale. In Bernat JL (ed): Ethical Issues in Neurologic Practice. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, Neurologic Clinics 7(4):823-843, 1989.
De Giorgio CM, Shewmon DA: Early prognosis in anoxic coma: An analysis of the major clinical criteria. Issues in Law & Medicine 5(2):141-164, 1989.
Shewmon DA: Anencephaly: Selected medical aspects. Hastings Center Report 18(5):11-19, 1988.
Shewmon DA: Commentary on guidelines for the determination of brain death in children. Annals of Neurology 24(6):789-791, 1988.
Shewmon DA: Does “right to die” mean “right to kill”? California Physician 5(1):24-27, 1988.
Shewmon DA: Active voluntary euthanasia: A needless Pandora’s box. Issues in Law & Medicine 3(3):219-244, 1987.
Shewmon DA: The probability of inevitability: The inherent impossibility of validating criteria for brain death or “irreversibility” through clinical studies. Statistics in Medicine 6(5):535-553, 1987.
Shewmon DA: Ethics and brain death: A response. The New Scholasticism 61(3): 321-344, 1987.
Shewmon DA: The metaphysics of brain death, persistent vegetative state, and dementia. The Thomist 49(1):24-80,1985.
Book
Machado C, Shewmon DA (eds): Brain Death and Disorders of Consciousness. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Vol. 550. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2004.
Book Chapters
Shewmon DA: The ABC of PVS: Problems of definition. In: Machado C, Shewmon DA (eds): Brain Death and Disorders of Consciousness. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Vol. 550. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2004, pp. 215-228.
Shewmon DA, Shewmon ES: The semiotics of death and its medical implications. In: Machado C, Shewmon DA (eds): Brain Death and Disorders of Consciousness. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Vol. 550. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2004, pp. 89-114.
Shewmon DA: The “critical organ” for the organism as a whole: Lessons from the lowly spinal cord. In: Machado C, Shewmon DA (eds): Brain Death and Disorders of Consciousness. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Vol. 550. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2004, pp. 23-41.
Shewmon DA: Determinación del momento de la muerte: nuevas evidencias, nuevas controversias. In: González AMG, Solana EP and Jiménez SA (eds): Vivir y Morir con Dignidad Temas fundamentales de Bioética en una sociedad plural. Pamplona, Spain, EUNSA (Ediciones Universidad de Navarra), 2002, pp. 153-171.
Shewmon DA: Is it reasonable to use as a basis for diagnosing death the UK protocol for the clinical diagnosis of “brain-stem death”? In: Gormally L (ed): Issues for a Catholic Bioethic. Proceedings of the International Conference to celebrate the Twentieth Anniversary of the foundation of The Linacre Centre. 28-31 July 1997. London, The Linacre Centre, 1999, Chapter 19, pp. 315-333.
Shewmon DA: Clinical determination of death in infants and children. In: Sgreccia E, Spagnolo AG, Di Pietro ML (eds): L’Assistenza al Morente. Aspetti socio-culturali, medico-assistenziali e pastorali. [“Care for the Dying Person. Socio-cultural, medical and pastoral aspects.”] Milan, Vita e Pensiero, 1994, pp. 141-175.
Shewmon DA: “Brain death”: A valid theme with invalid variations, blurred by semantic ambiguity. In: White RJ, Angstwurm H, Carrasco de Paula I (eds): Working Group on the Determination of Brain Death and its Relationship to Human Death. Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Scripta Varia #83. Casina Pio IV, Vatican City, 1992, pp. 23-51.
Shewmon DA: Caution in the definition and diagnosis of infant brain death. In Monagle JF, Thomasma DC (eds): Medical Ethics: A Guide for Health Professionals. Rockville, MD, Aspen, 1988, pp. 38-57.
Letters
Shewmon DA: The minimally conscious state: Definition and diagnostic criteria. Neurology 58(3):506, 2002.
Shewmon DA: Coverage of euthanasia issues prompts elitism and propaganda. Medical Ethics Advisor 5(9):121, 1989.
Shewmon DA: The semantic confusion surrounding ‘brain death.’ Archives of Neurology 46(6):603-604, 1989.
Shewmon DA: Euthanasia debate. UCLA Physicians’ Forum 1(3):2, 1989.
Shewmon DA: Brain death in children. Neurology 38(11):1813-1814, 1988.
Shewmon DA: Cardiac allotransplantation in newborns. New England Journal of Medicine 316(14):878, 1987.
Abstracts
Shewmon DA: Prolonged survival in “brain death”: two remarkable cases. International Child Neurology Association meeting, Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 13-18, 1998. Brain & Development 20(6):356 (#92), 1998.
Shewmon DA: Determinants of survival duration in “brain death”. International Child Neurology Association meeting, Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 13-18, 1998. Brain & Development 20(6):355-356 (#91), 1998.
The CNS Ethics Committee: Coulter DL, Ashwal S, Garg BP, Leicher CR, Shewmon DA, Sunder TR, Zupanc M: Ethical issues in managed and rationed care for children with severe neurological disabilities: Results of a questionnaire sent to members of the Child Neurology Society. Child Neurology Society meeting, San Francisco, October 3-8, 1994. Annals of Neurology 36(3):510 (#485), 1994.
CNS Ethics Committee: Ashwal S, Bale JF, Coulter DL, Eiben RM, Garg BP, Hill A, Myer EC, Nordgren R, Shewmon DA, Sunder TR, Walker RW: The persistent vegetative state in children: Results of the questionnaire sent to members of the Child Neurology Society. Child Neurology Society annual meeting, Portland, OR, October 3-5, 1991. Annals of Neurology 30(3):472-473 (#77), 1991.
Shewmon DA, Holmes GL: Brainstem plasticity in congenitally decerebrate children. International Child Neurology Association meeting. Tokyo, November 8, 1990. Brain & Development 12(5):565,664, 1990.
Shewmon DA: Ethical implications of fetal neurological development. International Child Neurology Association meeting. Tokyo, November 9, 1990. Brain & Development 12(5):567,611-612, 1990.
Shewmon DA: The critical duration beyond which electrocerebral silence may be considered "irreversible". American EEG Society annual meeting, St. Louis, MO, September 19, 1987. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology 4(3):266-267, 1987.
Invited Presentations
International
What is death? How language influences medical concepts. Ethics Symposium, International Child Neurology Association congress, Montreal, Canada, June 11-16, 2006.
Brain death: a legal fiction whose time has passed. Presentation to members of the Japanese Parliament. Tokyo, May 17, 2005.
Results of neurophysiologic research in Vegetative State. International Congress on Life-Sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemmas. Rome, March 17-20, 2004.
The semiotics of death and its medical implications. Fourth International Symposium on Coma and Death, Havana, Cuba, March 9-12, 2004. (participation cancelled due to last-minute travel restrictions)
The ABC of PVS: Problems of definition. Fourth International Symposium on Coma and Death, Havana, Cuba, March 9-12, 2004. (physical participation cancelled due to last-minute travel restrictions)
Ethical issues surrounding persistent vegetative state. Therapy Center, Burgau, Germany, November 8-10, 2001.
Does an organ define a human being? A reappraisal of the medical evidence surrounding “brain death.” Interdisciplinary Symposium on Human Life and Human Dignity, Bochum University, Bochum, Germany, November 2-3, 2001.
Evolving views on brain death: re-evaluation of the medical evidence. Tokyo Women’s Medical College, Tokyo, Japan, September 12, 2001.
Evolving views on brain death: re-evaluation of the medical evidence. Hyogo Medical College, Osaka, Japan, September 11, 2001.
Evolving views on brain death: re-evaluation of the medical evidence. Kurume University Medical School, Kurume, Japan, September 10, 2001.
The brain and human death. International human rights conference, “Who Owns the Body?” Berkeley, CA, September 20-23, 2000.
Decorticate children, brain death, and death. Castle Children’s Hospital, Helsinki, Finland, March 28, 2000.
Ethical considerations surrounding persistent vegetative state. (panel) Behandlungszentrum, Vogtareuth, Germany, March 24-25, 2000.
Definition and diagnosis of the vegetative state. Behandlungszentrum, Vogtareuth, Germany, March 24-25, 2000
.
Decorticate children, brain death, and death. Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, March 16, 2000.
Decorticate children, brain death, and death. 4th annual conference of Clinical Physiology, Osaka Medical College, Osaka Japan, March 10, 2000.
Decorticate children, brain death, and death. Tokyo University, Pediatric Neurology conference, Tokyo, Japan, March 6, 2000.
Decorticate children, brain death, and death. Joint Pediatrics Departments conference, Tokyo Medical College, Tokyo, Japan, March 4, 2000.
The “critical organ” for the “organism as a whole”: lessons from the lowly spinal cord. (Keynote address) 3rd International Symposium on Coma and Death, Havana, Cuba, February 22-25, 2000.
Seeing is believing: videos of life 13 years after “brain death,” and consciousness despite congenital absence of cortex. 3rd International Symposium on Coma and Death, Havana, Cuba, February 22-25, 2000.
The concept and diagnosis of death: re-evaluating the empirical bases. Agora. International Academy for Philosophy in the Principality of Liechtenstein, October 25, 1999.
Determining the moment of death: new evidence, new controversies. Jornadas de Bioética, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, October 21-23, 1999.
Definition of death: a new perspective. Symposium sobre Aspectos Eticos y Legales de Transplante de Organos. Panamerican University School of Medicine, Mexico City, October 1-2, 1999.
Chronic “brain death.” Interdepartmental Conference. Kinderspital. Zürich, Switzerland, March 19, 1999.
The problem of brain death in children. Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois. Lausanne, Switzerland, November 27, 1998.
New insights into vegetative state. Behandlungszentrum, Vogtareuth, Germany, November 20, 1998.
Are brain-dead and hydranencephalic children human persons? Swiss Society for Bioethics. Zürich, Switzerland, June 10, 1998.
Euthanasia. A medical-philosophical dialogue, co-presented with Prof. Josef Seifert. Internationale Akademie für Philosophie im Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Schaan, Liechtenstein, December 3, 1997.
Is the vegetative state really vegetative? Distinguishing neurological facts from hypotheses. Interdisciplinary conference: Patienten im Wachkoma, Recht auf Leben und Rehabilitation, sponsored by Humboldt-Universität Berlin and Forum Medizinische Ethik der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Berlin, Germany, November 20, 1997.
Discussion of brain death criteria in the USA since 1968 and their consequences for transplantation medicine. [Die Diskussion um das Hirntodkriterium in den USA seit 1968 und ihre Konsequenzen für die Transplantationsmedizin]. Theologische Fakultät, Fulda, Germany, November 18, 1997.
Disputed Question #1: Is it reasonable to use as a basis for diagnosing death the UK protocol for the clinical diagnosis of “brain-stem death”? Linacre Center 20th anniversary Conference on Bioethics. Queens’ College, Cambridge, UK, July 28-31, 1997.
A biological reconsideration of “brain death”. Task Force on Brain Death, Pontifical Academy for Life, Rome, June 23, 1997.
Is the “vegetative state” really vegetative? Second International Meeting of the Network on Defining Death: A Cross-National Perspective. San Francisco, CA, November 25, 1996.
Does “brain death” really entail the loss of somatic integrative unity? Third World Congress of Bioethics. San Francisco, CA, November 23, 1996.
Somatic integrative unity: A nonviable rationale for “brain death”. (keynote address) International Symposium on Brain Death. Havana, Cuba, February 27-March 1, 1996.
On the “V” of PVS: Is persistent vegetative state really "vegetative"? International Symposium on Brain Death. Havana, Cuba, February 27-March 1, 1996.
The AMA anencephalic policy: Can medical speculations justify utilitarian homicide? International Symposium on Brain Death. Havana, Cuba, February 27-March 1, 1996.
Is brain death really death? Campus Biomedico, Rome, Italy, April 5, 1995.
Is the patient in persistent vegetative state unconscious? Brain death and personal death. Fondazione Centro S. Raffaele del Monte Tabor, Milan, Italy, March 29, 1995.
Brain death: a conceptual itinerary. Internationale Akademie für Philosophie im Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Schaan, Liechtenstein, March 28, 1995.
Overt and covert euthanasia in North America and the Netherlands. Catholic Physician's Guild of Toronto, Canada, November 7, 1993.
Persistent vegetative state: The medical facts and the ethical analysis. Catholic Physician's Guild of Ottawa, Canada, November 6, 1993.
Neuroembryology and its implications concerning fetal pain, consciousness, and personhood. Conference on Human Life, sponsored by the Center for Research and Communication, Institute for Biomedical and Family Ethics. Manila, Philippines, September 22-24, 1993.
Foregoing of life-sustaining treatment in pediatrics. Medical Satellite Symposium, sponsored by the Center for Research and Communication, Institute for Biomedical and Family Ethics. Manila, Philippines, September 22-24, 1993.
Treatment vs. non-treatment of disabled newborns. Conference on Human Life, sponsored by the Center for Research and Communication, Institute for Biomedical and Family Ethics. Manila, Philippines, September 22-24, 1993.
Organ transplantation and brain death. Symposium on Christian Humanism and Bioethics. University Extension, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Santiago, Chile. August 23, 1993.
Neuroembryology and personhood. University of Los Andes Medical School, Santiago, Chile, August 23, 1993.
Ethical aspects of organ transplantation: present status and future perspectives. International Symposium on Bioethics. School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Santiago, Chile. August 18-20, 1993.
Passive euthanasia and the foregoing of extraordinary treatment: a frequently blurred critical distinction. International Symposium on Bioethics. School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Santiago, Chile. August 18-20, 1993.
Clinical determination of death in infants and children. International Congress on Care for the Dying Person: Socio-cultural, Medical and Pastoral Aspects. Center for Bioethics of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Rome, March 15-18, 1992.
Implications of new diagnostic techniques for “brain death”, “brain life” and vegetative state. International Symposium of Medical Physics, Monterrey, Mexico, November 21-23, 1991.
“Brain death”: A valid theme with invalid variations, blurred by semantic ambiguity. Working Group on the Determination of Brain Death and its Relationship to Human Death. Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Vatican City, December 10-14, 1989.
Medical progress and the dignity of the human person. UNIV Congress, Rome, March 28, 1988.
National
Brain death: a critical reappraisal. Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH, October 9, 2002.
Brain death: a critical reappraisal. Binder Lecture, Washington University, St. Louis, May 9, 2002.
Coma in children. American Clinical Neurophysiology Society annual meeting, Symposium on Coma. St. Louis, MO, October 31, 1999.
What is death? A critical re-evaluation of the basis for neurological formulation. Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH, March 2, 1999.
Definitions of death, the persistent vegetative state and anencephaly. Bishop's Workshop on Critical Issues in Contemporary Health Care, Dallas, TX, February 5, 1997.
The Hippocratic Oath revisited. New England Theological Forum, Boston, MA. April 11, 1996.
The anencephalic: Organ transplantation and respect for life. Keynote speaker, Catholic Physicians’ Guild of Chicago. Chicago, IL, January 27, 1996.
The anencephalic: Organ transplantation and respect for life. Neonatology/obstetrics joint grand rounds. Columbus Hospital. Chicago, IL, January 26, 1996.
What is appropriate treatment for an anencephalic newborn? Plenary session, American Academy of Pediatrics, Philadelphia, PA, April 12, 1995.
Anencephaly and related disorders: Criteria for evaluation. In “The New Right to Die: Self-Determination or Social Imperative?” Conference sponsored by the National Legal Center for the Medically Dependent & Disabled. New Orleans, LA, April 16, 1993.
Ethical dilemmas in neurology. (Course #130) American Academy of Neurology, San Diego, CA, May 3, 1992.
Long-range prognosis for neurological function. Bioethics symposium. American Academy of Pediatrics, San Diego, CA, March 18, 1991.
Theoretical considerations in the design and interpretation of prognostic studies. (Symposium on Electrodiagnosis in Neurologic Prognosis). American EEG Society, New Orleans, LA, September 23,
1989.
The neurological status of infants: PVS, coma, and brain death. In “Current Controversies in the Right to Live, the Right to Die; Legal, Medical, and Ethical Issues.” Conference sponsored by the National Legal Center for the Medically Dependent & Disabled. Washington, DC, April 14, 1989.
Tissue and organ “donation” by preborn and anencephalic infants – medical aspects. Bishop's Workshop on Critical Issues in Contemporary Health Care, Dallas, TX, February 2, 1989.
Workshop on the “Humane and Dignified Death Act.” Facing the 21st Century. Conference co-sponsored by the National and California Perinatal Associations, San Diego, CA, October 9, 1988.
Medical aspects of euthanasia. National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Phoenix, AZ, September 16, 1987.
Regional
Controversies in the determination of brain death in children. Panelist for round-table session, Western Scientific Assembly of California Medical Association’s annual meeting. March 3, 1989.
Does “right to die” mean “right to be killed”? Symposium on Bioethics, Social Change and Long-Term Care. Redwood Terrace, Escondido, CA, May 7, 1988.
