Suppose you happen to be in a serious car wreck. Or maybe you get shot or suffer cardiac arrest. If you live in King County, it might also mean that in that life-or-death moment, you will become part of an experiment — without your consent.

Researchers at the University of Washington have been studying various treatments for patients in such extreme situations. And because patients can be unconscious or too injured to consent, federal guidelines now allow the doctors to bypass longstanding ethics rules that require so-called "informed consent."

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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003732713_labrats03m.html

Only in America................I hope!