![](https://d3ilqtpdwi981i.cloudfront.net/PX42mzD3AfmZFDdZEkf2AmMFwbI=/425x550/smart/https://bepress-attached-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/b5/10/33/b5103332-c080-488b-9678-cb23e7eee7e9/thumbnail_8aaf4ad4-5751-4c4c-abb2-208d008aa031.jpg)
Article
Why it’s not OK for doctors to participate in executions
Peer Reviewed Articles
Publication Date
8-1-2017
Keywords
- capital punishment,
- ethics,
- palliative care
Disciplines
Abstract
A plea for direct physician participation in executions was presented by Sandeep Jauhar in a New York Times Op-Ed (“Why It’s OK for Doctors to Participate in Executions”—April 21, 2017). Jauhar’s article is not a discussion of the ethics of capital punishment. He describes his own opposition “as a matter of principle, as a doctor.” However, since capital punishment is legal in 31 states, with required physician participation in several, he acquiesces to a utilitarian stance rather than the principled approach he acknowledges is expected of a physician in this circumstance.
Original Citation
Johnson RF. Why it’s not OK for doctors to participate in executions. Ann Palliat Med 2017;6(Suppl 1):S102-S103. doi: 10.21037/apm.2017.05.06
Citation Information
Robert F Johnson. "Why it’s not OK for doctors to participate in executions" (2017) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/robert-johnson/6/
Published with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 license.