Should Doctors Assist Executions?

Should physicians assist the state in killing people?

The "TalkLeft" blog has an interesting article this morning 02/17/06, on the ethical question of whether physicians should assist in state sponsored executions. Here is what the article says in part:

Drugs used in California executions "can cause excruciating pain, in violation of the Eighth Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment." A federal judge reviewing evidence of prior executions isn't convinced that inmates are rendered unconscious before they experience any pain. During the scheduled execution of Michael Morales on Tuesday, the judge wants California "to allow an anesthesiologist to observe and examine the inmate during the execution." That ruling has triggered a debate about using a doctor to assist the death of a healthy man.

Link: Should Doctors Assist Executions? - TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime.