Could a Doctor Refuse to Treat a Patient in an Emergency?
<p>Suppose a man commits a hate crime against (Hypothetical Church), and in the midst of the crime, the man is critically wounded by the police and rushed to the hospital.</p>

<p>Suppose there is only one doctor there, and that doctor has the ability the save the man. But that doctor has a lot of friends in (Hypothetical Church) and is aware of the man's crime.</p>

<p>Would it be illegal for the doctor to refuse to treat the man and let him die?</p>

<p>I realize there could be other consequences (possibly getting fired or losing a medical license), but I am mainly asking if it is illegal. (United States)</p>

<p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Medical_Treatment_and_Active_Labor_Act" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act</a> is a federal law which requires that a hospital emergency department to 
provide a medical screening examination, if the hospital accepts Medicare payments (therefore, nearly all hospitals). This imposes an obligation on the hospital and not the individual doctor; it also does not require full treatment per se, instead it requires stabilization or informed consent of the patient before transfer or discharge. </p>

united-states medical malpractice