Neurologist's Affadavit

HughHewitt.com has a copy of the affadavit filed by Dr. William Cheshire arguing that Terri Schiavo is more likely in a minimally conscious state than in a persistent vegetative state. Fox was wrong last night when it said that Dr. Cheshire had never personally seen Terri. His opinion is based at least partially on personal observation.

Update:

The New York Times has an article today seeking to discredit Dr. Cheshire because he is an evangelical. A Diagnosis with a Dose of Religion

William P. Cheshire Jr., the Florida doctor cited by Gov. Jeb Bush yesterday in his announcement that he would intervene again in the case of Terri Schiavo, is a neurologist and bioethicist whose life and work have been guided by his religious beliefs.

The center's Web site notes that he and his wife and four children are members of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Jacksonville and that he has done medical missionary work in Honduras and Siberia.

It also quotes Dr. Ronald Cranford,

Dr. Ronald Cranford, a neurologist and medical ethicist at the University of Minnesota Medical School who has examined Ms. Schiavo on behalf of the Florida courts and declared her to be irredeemably brain-damaged, said, "I have no idea who this Cheshire is," and added: "He has to be bogus, a pro-life fanatic."

There's no question that Dr. Cheshire does not share Dr. Cranford's credentials on PVS; Dr. Cranford is the nation's foremost expert on PVS. However, if the New York Times is going to cast suspicion on Dr. Cheshire because of his religious affiliation, shouldn't they also divulge Dr. Cranford's affiliations?

According to WorldNetDaily, Cranford is a member of the board of directors of the Choice in Dying Society, which promotes doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia, and was a featured speaker at the 1992 national conference of the Hemlock Society.

Dr. Cranford is well-known for his pro-death views. At one time he wrote an OpEd for the Minneapolis Star Tribune advocating withholding nutrition and hydration from patients in advanced stages of Alzheimers.

It may be that Cranford is right and Cheshire is wrong about Terri's diagnosis, but if the New York Times is going to make the case that Dr. Cheshire's diagnosis is colored by his religious, pro-life views it ought to concede the Dr. Cranford's diagnosis may also be colored by his non-religious, physicalist, pro-death views.

There seems to be sufficient appearance of conflict-of-interest and bias in this case to have warranted erring on the side of too many, perhaps even unnecessary, tests.