Hamilton v. McAuliffe

Hubert Hamilton, a 35-year-old Jehovah’s Witness, was shot through the chest on the evening of December 12, 1973, and was hospitalized under the care of two physicians who determined that he could not survive without immediate surgery and a blood transfusion. Hamilton consented to the surgery but refused to authorize a blood transfusion even though he was informed by his physicians that he would die if surgery was undertaken and a blood transfusion was not given in the course of the surgery. Hamilton’s refusal to consent to the blood transfusion was based on two grounds: (1) that his…