Comments on: Lethal injection debate

By: Caroline

Caroline — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:08:58 +0000

Good post. Obviously there is no room for political discussion here, but I agree that as medical professionals, we ought to be making every effort to ensure that this type of death is painless and fast.

Didn’t realize those drugs were also used in anesthesia but it makes sense now that you mention it…

By: RehabRN

RehabRN — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:48:53 +0000

All I have to say is that I am glad I do not possess the skills to do perform lethal injections.

Politics alone is not the only reason why someone would not want to perform lethal injection–religion and personal morality also play a part in it, which is why I will not work in a few areas. I just do not want to have to make ethical decisions against my personal belief system. Certain areas of practice, while interesting, would cause that to happen, and we as practictioners should be aware of those issues and choose our practice areas accordingly.

By: Barbara K.

Barbara K. — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:04:18 +0000

Political and humane arguments apart, I can’t help but wonder what effect facilitating an unwanted death, even a gentle one, would have on a health care practitioner whose professional code rests on the mandate - Do No Harm. Yes, one can argue that providing a humane death in a government mandated execution is doing the best in a harmful situation. But how much would a practitioner committed to healing need to twist her foundation to force death upon the unwilling?

By: Terry

Terry — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:44:29 +0000

It is indeed a very volatile and touchy subject. While doing no harm is a pillar of practice, can we as a society condemn individuals to die and then torture them in the process? There are many documentations of lethal injections (and electrocutions) gone awry. What does this say about all of us?

I could never imagine a health care provider in a position as executioner, but who is properly skilled to adminster lethal drugs for death? Do we train people especially for this job?

Barbara, I think you brought two key words into the equation - unwanted death. But this also brings to mind Dr. Kevorkian - he facilitated wanted deaths, and served time for it, too.

I have no answers here, as you can tell. Just more questions. . .

By: Nickie

Nickie — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:57:40 +0000

This is a tough question. I know social workers face similar issues, though we don’t have the knowledge and skiills to influence anything with medications, we do have the ability to advocate one position or person over the other. TIt’s good to hear about another group of practitioners and these ethical challenges.

By: Terry

Terry — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:25:45 +0000

Now, if we could just get the attention of our lawmakers. . .

By: Freadom`

Freadom` — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:53:03 +0000

You bring up an excellent point. It only makes sense that people of our profession would be against this procedure, considering we got into this line of work because we are “caring and compassionate.” However, supporters of the death penalty might argue, “How much compassion did the convicted killer have for his victims.”

Still, I certainly wouldn’t want to make that decision. I think there was an episode of Law and order about this recently.