Do Alzheimer's Patients Have a 'Duty to Die?'

Since this law is still on the books, Mehlman said, any government attempt to put Warnock's ideas into practice would be illegal.

An Old Idea

Mehlman added that Warnock is not the first to put forward the idea of limiting health care for the elderly. In 1987, American bioethicist Daniel Callahan expressed a somewhat similar idea in a book titled "Setting Limits."

"Callahan advocated that Medicare stop paying for the elderly after they reached a certain age," Mehlman said. "Although Callahan was not absolutely clear on this, it appeared that the cut-off age was to be around 82. ... Callahan was roundly criticized for his view, including by me."

And in at least one instance in recent history, Groner said, such Machiavellian principles have been put into practice.

"In the beginning of the era leading up to World War Two, Hitler decided that he would need more hospital beds," he said. "If you were an individual with dementia or a child with a deformity, you didn't stand a chance."

But Groner said he felt there are better ways to control health care spending.

"In terms of costs to society, I think smokers cost more," he said. "Alcohol abuse I think is pretty expensive, too. So why pick on elderly people with dementia?"

Lara Salahi contributed to this report.