The Hypocritic Oafs of the AMA

(Note: I'm reposting this entry in its entiretly from JackLewis.Net. lgp)

TITLE: AMA wants doctors to stop assisting in executions

SUMMARY: The Liberal dominated American Medical Association want doctors to stop assisting with executions, but has no problems with abortions, or torturing to death people like Terri Schiavo.

AMA: Docs Shouldn't Help In Executions
From NewsMax.com (July 17, 2006)

American Medical Association President Dr. William G. Plested said Monday that medical professionals should not participate in executions of prisoners.

"The American Medical Association is troubled by continuous refusal of many state courts and legislatures to acknowledge the ethical obligations of physicians, which strictly prohibit physician involvement in a legally authorized execution," he said in a statement. "The AMA's policy is clear and unambiguous - requiring physicians to participate in executions violates their oath to protect lives and erodes public confidence in the medical profession.

"A physician is a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is hope of doing so. The use of a physician's clinical skill and judgment for purposes other than promoting an individual's health and welfare undermines a basic ethical foundation of medicine - first, do no harm."

Funny, they don't seem to have a problem with the wholesale slaughter of millions of unborn children, nor the protracted, doctor-assisted torture and murder of Terri Schiavo. They are only concerned about the execution of criminals who've received more judication than anyone else in the world and have still been ruled worthy of death.

Note, though, if doctors can't assist in modern executions - lethal injections - then, if I'm not mistaken, the execution couldn't be carried out, since it is classified as a medical procedure. It would be ironic if states were forced to go back to such methods as the gas chamber, the electric chair, hanging or even the firing squad, because the Hippocratic oath was selectively applied to executions. Such a result would be reminiscent of the origin of the guillotine. Invented by a man who opposed the death penalty, but sought, as at least some consolation, a quicker and less painful method than was at the time practiced. (Anne Boleyn's family paid to have an expert swordsman do her execution, since otherwise a novice with a dull sword might take some time finishing the job). But in the end the speed (of the guillotine) allowed for even more executions, and now Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin's name is synonymous with a cruel execution device.

More pavement for the road to hell.