APHA adopts anti-execution policy at annual meeting

SAN DIEGO — The American Pharmacists Association House of Delegates voted on Monday to adopt a policy discouraging pharmacist participation in executions, here, at the group's annual meeting.

The official policy states: “The American Pharmacists Association discourages pharmacist participation in executions on the basis that such activities are fundamentally contrary to the role of pharmacists as providers of health care.

Commenting on the policy, APhA EVP and CEO Thomas Menighan stated, “Pharmacists are healthcare providers and pharmacist participation in executions conflicts with the profession’s role on the patient healthcare team. This new policy aligns APhA with the execution policies of other major healthcare associations including the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association and the American Board of Anesthesiology.”

This new policy statement joins two policies previously adopted by the APhA House of Delegates:



• Pharmacist Involvement in Execution by Lethal Injection (2004, 1985)APhA opposes the use of the term "drug" for chemicals when used in lethal injections.

• APhA opposes laws and regulations, which mandate or prohibit the participation of pharmacists in the process of execution by lethal injection.



Nearly 6,000 pharmacists and student pharmacists from various pharmacy settings gathered, here, in San Diego to attend the American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting and Exposition, APhA2015, which wrapped up Monday. This year’s theme, Advancing As One, speaks to how, by rallying together, pharmacists can simultaneously change the nation’s view of their role in the healthcare system.