Death Penalty and Assisted Euthanasia Question

[OtakuLoki]

I was just reading this thread in the Pit, about a particularly inventive death penalty appeal.

During the arguments in the thread Fear Itself mentions something that caught my eye.

@Fear Itself

The American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) are both on record as being against their members assisting in executions. I don’t know what body governs trained phlebotomists, but I would be surprised if they did not also believe that assisting in executions violates the basic ethical foundation of medicine; “first, do no harm.”

Which makes it clear that Fear Itself believes that both the organizations mentioned seem to oppose any so-called medical procedure where the purpose is to end the life of the person receiving the treatment. I know that this argument has been used in many of the debates against legalizing doctor assisted suicide, but I wonder, are the AMA and the NAEMT going to speak up so strongly against all forms of “medicine” that are intended to end lives, rather than just executions?
For the record, I’m aware that one can make a valid moral argument that physician assisted suicide is a different sort of beast than an execution. If these organizations are going to make, or have made, that distinction, that’s fine and their choice.

[Ferret_Herder]

@OtakuLoki

For the record, I’m aware that one can make a valid moral argument that physician assisted suicide is a different sort of beast than an execution. If these organizations are going to make, or have made, that distinction, that’s fine and their choice.

The AMA is against euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. I went to their website and searched on those terms to turn up their policies. I leave finding the policies of the other organization as an exercise for the reader.