Do Not Resuscitate Tattoo (6/17/2018 by Elizabeth P. Wang)
This story reported in NEJM in Nov. 2017 raised an interesting question: Should a doctor save a patient with "Do Not Resuscitate" tattooed on his chest?
DNR (Do Not Resuscitate order) laws vary from state to state. With a valid DNR, doctors are legally obligated to honor patients' decision to forgo life-sustaining treatments. Tattoos may reflect the end-of-life wishes of the patient, are not legally binding and caused an ethical dilemma for doctors in this unusual case.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1713344?af=R&rss=currentIssue&&fbclid=IwAR39NTHWdqaznsgXAamcK9zh-06XgUo8bay4_u06-lt7ylW3HHWhgDiV3ME#t=article