Legislation to bar doc­tors and nurs­es from par­tic­i­pat­ing in exe­cu­tions was recent­ly signed into law by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on July 24, 2003. The bill states, ​“The Department of Corrections shall not request, require, or allow a health care prac­ti­tion­er licensed in Illinois, includ­ing but not lim­it­ed to physi­cians and nurs­es, regard­less of employ­ment, to par­tic­i­pate in an exe­cu­tion.” (SB 0277) The bill is in-step with guide­lines estab­lished under the Hippocratic Oath, which calls on doc­tors to do every­thing with­in their pow­er to relieve suf­fer­ing and to pre­vent death. See Recent Legislative Developments.

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