Nurse participation in legal executions: An ethics round-table discussion

Title
Nurse participation in legal executions: An ethics round-table discussion
Publication Date
2018
Author(s)
Shields, Linda
Watson, Roger
Darbyshire, Philip
McKenna, Hugh
Williams, Ged
Hungerford, Catherine
Stanley, David
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7767-5442
Email: dstanle5@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:dstanle5
Ben-Sefer, Ellen
Benedict, Susan
Goodman, Benny
Draper, Peter
Anderson, Judith
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Sage Publications Ltd
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1177/0969733016677870
UNE publication id
une:-chute-20170516-120607
une:-chute-20170516-120607
Abstract
A paper was published in 2003 discussing the ethics of nurses participating in executions by inserting the intravenous line for lethal injections and providing care until death. This paper was circulated on an international email list of senior nurses and academics to engender discussion. From that discussion, several people agreed to contribute to a paper expressing their own thoughts and feelings about the ethics of nurses participating in executions in countries where capital punishment is legal. While a range of opinions were presented, these opinions fell into two main themes. The first of these included reflections on the philosophical obligations of nurses as caregivers who support those in times of great need, including condemned prisoners at the end of life. The second theme encompassed the notion that no nurse ever should participate in the active taking of life, in line with the codes of ethics of various nursing organisations. This range of opinions suggests the complexity of this issue and the need for further public discussion.
Link
Citation
Nursing Ethics, 25(7), p. 841-854
ISSN
1477-0989
0969-7330
Start page
841
End page
854

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