God, hard to believe you all have not heard of COMFORT MEASURES. Doctors do it without permission, and with permission if the patient is knowledgeable about the procedure.
My Dad's friend, he fell and had a hairline crack in his elbow. Having gone to the hospital, he contracted pneumonia. He was bad, and he decided to pull the plug. He had his mental acuity, but they had him on a respirator. He decided to do COMFORT MEASURES. I am NOT 100% certain he could not pull out of his predicament. In any case, they did as he wished, and he was dead in 1.5 hours. I stood there and watched it almost in disbelief. My Mother and I were there with the family as it all went down. This is a guy that was a retired Captain of the Coast Guard, in great shape, mid 70s. I think doctors failed him miserably.
I say do not trust AMERICAN physicians. Half of them are incompetent. My wife is a doctor, but she is from overseas.
JUST REMEMBER THE 4TH LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE USA IS DOCTORS.