Physicians, Medical Ethics, and Execution by Lethal Injection

Posted: 22 Oct 2014 Last revised: 6 Dec 2014

See all articles by Robert D. Truog

Robert D. Truog

Harvard University - Harvard Medical School

I. Glenn Cohen

Harvard Law School

Mark Rockoff

Harvard University - Boston Children’s Hospital

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

Suggested Citation

Truog, Robert D. and Cohen, I. Glenn and Rockoff, Mark, Physicians, Medical Ethics, and Execution by Lethal Injection (October 20, 2014). 311 JAMA 2375 (2014) , Harvard Public Law Working Paper No. 14-39, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2512450

Robert D. Truog

Harvard University - Harvard Medical School ( email )

25 Shattuck St
Boston, MA 02115
United States
617-355-7327 (Phone)

I. Glenn Cohen (Contact Author)

Harvard Law School ( email )

1525 Massachusetts Avenue
Griswold Hall 503
Cambridge, 02138
United States

Mark Rockoff

Harvard University - Boston Children’s Hospital ( email )

300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States

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