Health Care lawyers out there: is this true? When the patient has stated, with witnesses (and he's sane), that he doesn't want treatment, why would the hospital want to force expensive treatment on him? Wouldn't that treatment best be saved for somebody who wants it, and somebody who society wants around (a non-serial killer)?
Despite the policy considerations of saving a serial killer, the Hippocratic Oath does command that doctors preserve life. Do they have to preserve life against the patients' wishes? Do the patients' wishes not matter anymore after they've passed out?
