When Law and Ethics Collide

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Why Physicians Participate in Executions. An opinion piece by Atul Gawande, one of my favorite physician-writers. Hopefully of interest to non-MDs as well.

“States have affirmed that physicians and nurses — including those who are prison employees — have a right to refuse to participate in any way in executions. Yet they have found physicians and nurses who are willing to participate. Who are these people? And why do they do it?”

Gawande interviews several physician-executioners, all but one cloaked by anonymity, pointedly examining the slippery slope that led each one to their induction into the role, and their ethical qualms, such as they are. Gawande himself takes pains to note that he is not an opponent of the death penalty, although one of the physicians he interviews, who has so far participated in six executions, is. Interestingly, ironically, troublingly, this MD sees his role as akin to not abandoning any other patient with a terminal illness in their final moments. Gawande isn’t buying that argument, and comes down on the side of advocating a legal ban on the participation of physicians and nurses in performing executions. (New England Journal of Medicine)