Kenneth Zeitler: Don’t emulate Texas

Regarding the April 29 news article “Bill will let doctors skip executions”: Rep. Leo Daughtry wants to be “more like Texas” where 524 executions have occurred since 1976. He wants to omit a physician from the process “because they won’t do it,” saying that, “I’m not sure the reason why.”

Perhaps I can point out to him that physicians are sworn to an oath to heal, not kill, including here in North Carolina. Placing the burden of officiating at executions on other health care providers is also contradictory to their duty to protect life, whether they take such an oath or not.

The solution is for all health care providers to take such an oath rather than be party to state-sanctioned murder no matter how heinous the crime. Let the legislators who vote for such a bill take their turn in the death chamber watching man’s inhumanity to man.

I do not want to be like Texas.

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Kenneth Zeitler: Don’t emulate Texas."