Is the patient terminally ill?
If yes, is he expected to die within hours or within days? If death is truly expected within hours or a few days and will occur regardless of whether or not treatment is rendered, one is not morally obligated to use aggressive measures to treat the patient. However, one can still request and expect such measures, but the hospital will usually be resistant to doing so. At a minimum for a terminally ill patient, food, hydration, and pain management must be administered until his bodily systems can no longer process these. Transplants, surgeries, and other major medical procedures are not required morally, but infections, wounds, and other symptoms should be treated.
