This is a life-or-death emergency where delay guarantees patient death. The principle of beneficence (preventing harm and saving life) takes precedence over procedural concerns in this extreme circumstance. Dr. Chen is present and can provide medical oversight, even if she cannot physically access the override controls. The security protocols were designed to ensure patient safety, not to prevent life-saving interventions. The protesters, while exercising their rights, are actively preventing emergency medical care, creating an immediate threat to life. In emergency medicine, implied consent exists when a patient faces imminent death and cannot provide consent - Liam's cardiac arrest constitutes such a situation. The ethical imperative to preserve life when no reasonable alternative exists outweighs strict adherence to consent protocols that were not designed for this specific crisis scenario.