APhA issues policy discourage members from taking part in legal executions

For the second time in less than a week, an association representing pharmacists is discouraging members from participating in the preparation of drugs used for lethal injections.

The American Pharmacists Association announced Monday that its House of Delegates had adopted a policy stating that pharmacists should not take part in legal executions of convicted felons because "such activities are fundamentally contrary to the role of pharmacists as providers of health care."

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

The new policy also aligns APhA with the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists, which announced last week it is discouraging members from preparing medications used for lethal injections. Several states have recently turned to compounding pharmacies for such medications because the companies that have traditionally made drugs for lethal injections are no longer making them.

APhA also adopted language opposing both the use of the term "drug" for chemicals used to make lethal injections and state laws or regulations that would compel pharmacists to participate in lethal injections. http://bit.ly/1yvZ7hz