Officials Investigate Possible Euthanasia Cases During Hurricane Katrina.

On orders of Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti, 73 people have been subpoenaed as part of an investigation of whether euthanasia was used in a New Orleans hospital during Hurricane Katrina. According to CNN, the subpoenas went to employees of Memorial Medical Center, which is owned by Tenet Healthcare.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office told Reuters that the deaths of over 200 patients at Louisiana nursing homes and hospitals during and just after Hurricane Katrina are being examined.

The subpoenas were "for all levels of personnel," spokeswoman Kris Wartelle told the Associated Press, and included doctors, nurses, and support staff. They included people who were at the hospital during the storm and its aftermath "or they knew something about it," she said.

"In some places, they drowned," said Wartelle. "In some places, they died because there was no air conditioning. In other cases, we've heard of possible euthanasia."

Foti's actions followed allegations by a doctor and nurse manager that three days after Katrina flooded most of New Orleans August 29, staff members at Memorial had repeated discussions about euthanizing patients.

The hospital was cut off by flood waters for several days. Officials found 45 bodies in the hospital after the surviving patients and workers were evacuated, according to the Washington Times.

"Some people were not coming forward. We learned Tenet sent out a letter that had a chilling effect," Attorney General Charles Foti, Jr., told CNN. "We had no choice but to issue these subpoenas. They [Tenet] seem to be in a position of protecting ...