Dr. Bentley, Stop This Murder Now

September 22, 2011 by Left in Alabama

I had all sorts of interesting topics rolling around in my mind this week about healthcare reform. This morning I realized there was only one thing I could or should talk about today. Today, for the third time in a week in my country, there will be a murder—a legally mandated murder. Today my state will kill Derrick O’Neal Mason.

Our governor, Dr. Robert Bentley— a physician—has said he will not intervene. I guess he has figured out some way in his mind to put aside both the Commandments of his faith and the Hippocratic Oath as not relevant.

I had all sorts of interesting topics rolling around in my mind this week about healthcare reform.  This morning I realized there was only one thing I could or should talk about today.  Today, for the third time in a week in my country, there will be a murder—a legally mandated murder.  Today my state will kill Derrick O’Neal Mason.

Our governor, Dr. Robert Bentley— a physician—has said he will not intervene.  I guess he has figured out some way in his mind to put aside both the Commandments of his faith and the Hippocratic Oath as not relevant.

I did some research to find out if there would be any other physician involvement in this murder.  The AMA has a position statement that physicians should not participate in executions http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/opinion206.page .  The relevant Alabama Code http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/alcode/15/18/5/15-18-82  does not say there will be a physician there, and the warden, according to multiple sources I found, has repeatedly refused to disclose the detailed protocol.

But here’s what the Code says about the procedure: “(f) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a person authorized by state law to prescribe medication and designated by the Department of Corrections may prescribe the drug or drugs necessary to compound a lethal injection. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a person authorized by state law to prepare, compound, or dispense medication and designated by the Department of Corrections may prepare, compound, or dispense a lethal injection. For purposes of this section, prescription, preparation, compounding, dispensing, and administration of a lethal injection shall not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or pharmacy.” (Italics mine).

So that’s how we get around it?  When medical professionals kill people, using the skills they attained in medical training, skills intended to be used for healing and not murder, it doesn’t count because it isn’t practicing medicine?

The AMA does not have the authority to discipline physicians for unethical actions, other than to revoke AMA membership.  State medical boards can, but Alabama’s has not bothered to form a policy prohibiting physician involvement in executions—the official word is that we defer to the AMA, which has no power.  Here’s a good article about how state medical board rules could have an impact on executions http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/02/22/prsb0222.htm. 

I’m not generally a fan of the AMA’s politics, but on this issue we are on common ground.  Their statement details the many ways in which physicians should not participate in executions, even including providing psychiatric treatment for the purpose of restoring a person to competency.  The statement does not say anything about the duty of a physician to prevent the execution, if it is within that physician’s legal power to do so.  So Dr. Bentley’s particular form of participation, refusing to intervene, is not included—but even if it were, we would have no disciplinary power in our state to do anything about it.

I do not believe there is any moral gray area here.  Murder is wrong.  Two murders—wrongs— don’t make a right.  Any physician, including our governor, who helps murder someone by acts of commission or omission is not worthy of holding a license to practice medicine.  Dr. Bentley, somewhere in your heart, you know this is true.   Do the right thing—stop this murder now.