Governor’s execution role risks MD license (Chicago Tribune)
When Gov. Ernie Fletcher signed a death warrant for a convicted killer this month, he may have done more than start the clock ticking on an execution. Some say Fletcher, a doctor, may have put his medical license at risk.
American Medical Association guidelines bar doctors from taking part, directly or indirectly, in executions, and Kentucky requires doctors to follow AMA ethical guidelines. “I think it’s a clear violation,” said Dr. Arthur Zitrin, a retired psychiatrist in New York and a death penalty opponent. Zitrin also is challenging the license of a Georgia doctor accused of helping nurses find a vein in a condemned man for a lethal injection.
I can’t imagine the state would actually pull Fletcher’s license, what with him being governor and all, but this is an interesting issue. Of course, as Jim Pfaff points out, there doesn’t seem to be any rush to pull the licenses of doctors who perform abortions.
