95.985 Physician Participation in Capital Punishment:
MSSNY has adopted the following policy statement relative to Physician Participation in Capital Punishment:
(1) An individual’s opinion on capital punishment is the personal moral decision of the individual. A physician, as a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life, when there is hope of doing so, should not be a participant in a state execution. “Physician participation in execution” is defined generally as actions which would fall into one or more of the following categories: (a) An action which could automatically cause an execution to be carried out on a condemned prisoner; (b) An action which would assist, supervise, or contribute to the ability of another individual to directly cause the death of the condemned; (c) An action which could automatically cause an execution to be carried out on a condemned prisoner.
(2) Physician participation in an execution includes but is no limited to the following actions: prescribing or administering tranquilizers and other psychotropic agents and medications which are part of the execution procedure; monitoring vital signs on site or remotely (including monitoring electrocardiograms); attending or observing an execution as a physician; and rendering of technical advice regarding execution.
(3) In the case where the method of execution is lethal injection the following actions by the physicians would also constitute physician participation in execution: selecting injection sites; starting intravenous lines as a port for a lethal injection device; prescribing, preparing, administering, or supervising injection drugs or their doses or types; inspecting, testing, or maintaining lethal injection devices; consulting with or supervising lethal injection personnel. (4) The following actions do not constitute physician participation in execution:
(a) Testifying as to competence to stand trial testifying as to relevant medical evidence during trial, or testifying as to medical aspects of aggravating or mitigating circumstances during the penalty phase of a capital case; (b) Certifying death provided that the condemned has been declared dead by another person; (c) Witnessing an execution in a totally non-professional capacity; (d) Witnessing an execution at the specific voluntary request of the condemned person, providing that the physician observes the execution in a non-physician capacity and takes no action which would constitute physician participation in an execution; and (e) Relieving the acute suffering of a condemned person while awaiting execution, including providing tranquilizers at the specific voluntary request of the condemned person to relieve pain or anxiety in anticipation of the execution. (HOD 1995-71; Modified and reaffirmed HOD 2014; Reaffirmed HOD 2024)
