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American Pharmacists Association discourages involvement in executions

By Andrew V. Pestano
Lethal injection table. File Photo by Ken Piorkowski/Flickr
Lethal injection table. File Photo by Ken Piorkowski/Flickr

WASHINGTON, March 31 (UPI) -- The American Pharmacists Association has adopted a policy discouraging pharmacists from participating in executions that use drugs.

The APhA's House of Delegates voted Monday to adopt the new policy, discouraging pharmacist involvement " on the basis that such activities are fundamentally contrary to the role of pharmacists as providers of healthcare."

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The delegates met in San Diego during the 2015 APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition.

"Pharmacists are healthcare providers, and pharmacist participation in executions conflicts with the profession's role on the patient healthcare team," executive vice president and CEO of the association, Thomas E. Menighan, said. "This new policy aligns APhA with the execution policies of other major healthcare associations, including the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association and the American Board of Anesthesiology."

The association had previously adopted a policy stating its opposition of the term "drug" for chemicals used in lethal injections and opposes laws or regulations that mandate or prohibit the participation of pharmacists in the process of lethal-injection executions.

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