When law and ethics collide - Why physicians participate in executions

Article Abstract:

Lethal injection appears to be the sole method of execution accepted by courts as a means to snuff the life out of prisoners who have been given the death sentence since it lexicalizes the process and is in keeping with the Eighth Amendment requirements. The American Medical Association (AMA) and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) have opposed such physician participation as a clear violation of medical ethics codes since physicians are considered healers and not executioners.

Author: Gawande, Atul
United States, Legal issues & crime, Government regulation (cont), Government regulation, Legal/Government Regulation, Management, Laws, regulations and rules, American Medical Association, Company business management, Execution by lethal injection, American Society of Anesthesiologists

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Naked

Article Abstract:

Physical examination is deeply intimate, and the way a doctor deals with the naked body particularly when the doctor is male and the patient is female inevitably raises questions of propriety and trust. The General Medical Council, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists specify that a chaperone must be offered to all patients who undergo an 'intimate exam'.

Author: Gawande, Atul
Medicine, Medical practice, Physical diagnosis, Medical examination, Periodic health examinations

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Without conscience

Article Abstract:

The Nazi doctors during the Second World War, instead of doing their job and bringing assistance and comfort to the sick people who needed them most, became their executioners. The Nazi doctors did their work without any crisis of conscience like the fanatical German theorists.

Author: Wiesel, Elie
Social aspects, Medical personnel, Medical malpractice, National socialism

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Subjects list: Physicians, Ethical aspects, United Kingdom, Practice
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