American Nurses Association Adopts Position Statement Against Capital Punishment

In an expansion of their stance opposing nurse participation in executions, the American Nurses Association (ANA) announced on February 21, 2017 that the organization now for the first time opposes capital punishment itself. “Capital punishment is a human rights violation, and ANA is proud to stand in strong opposition to the death penalty,” ANA President Pamela F. Cipriano said. “All human beings, regardless of their crimes, should be treated with dignity. For those states where capital punishment is currently legal, the American Nurses Association will continue to provide ethical guidance, education, and resources for nurses and other health care providers dealing with these ethical dilemmas.” The ANA had long opposed nurses participating in the death penalty in any role, adopting that position in 1983. “The drafters of the subcommittee were initially supporters of the death penalty until they started doing research,” Liz Stokes, the senior policy advisor for the ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights, said. But as they studied the issue, she said, they were moved by the body of evidence showing problems in the way it was administered. Ultimately, the ANA’s board of directors unanimously adopted the new position. The ANA statement offers nine reasons for the association’s opposition to the death penalty, including racially and geographically biased application, the risk of executing innocent people, botched executions, and high costs. The new position aligns with the International Council of Nurses, which “considers the death penalty to be cruel, inhuman and unacceptable,” and reflects a growing consensus among medical organizations that participation in executions by medical professionals is unethical. The American Medical Association, American Board of Anesthesiology, and American Pharmacists Association, among others, have discouraged or forbidden their members from participating in executions and American pharmaceutical manufacturers have adopted policies seeking to prevent misuse of their medicines as execution drugs.

(K. Bellware, “Leading Nurses Association Takes Official Stance Against Death Penalty,” The Huffington Post, February 22, 2017; Press Release, “ANA Releases New Position Statement Opposing Capital Punishment,” American Nurses Association, February 21, 2017; “Capital Punishment and Nurses’ Participation in Capital Punishment,” American Nurses Association, February 21, 2017.) See New Voices and Lethal Injection.