Physicians, Medical Ethics, and Execution by Lethal Injection
311 JAMA 2375 (2014)
Posted: 22 Oct 2014 Last revised: 6 Dec 2014
Date Written: October 20, 2014
Abstract
In the wake of the recent botched execution by lethal injection in Oklahoma, a group of eminent legal professionals known as the Death Penalty Committee of The Constitution Project issued a set of recommendations for sweeping legal and administrative reforms of this method of capital punishment. This Article discusses the Committee’s recommendation that medical personnel perform the medically-related elements of lethal injection executions. Noting that such involvement is prohibited by the codes of medical ethics of professional societies in every medical profession, this Article argues that significant ethical concerns dictate that medical professionals should refuse to participate in lethal injection executions.
Keywords: capital punishment, execution, lethal injection, conscience, bioethics, professional responsibility, licensing
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