Published time: October 01, 2013 23:29
A bottle of propofol (AFP Photo / Al Seib)
Missouri anesthesiologists have urged the state not to use a prime anesthetic used routinely in hospitals across the nation in an upcoming execution, warning that such use could put the future supply of the crucial drug at risk.
Missouri is set to use the
most commonly-used anesthetic in the US, propofol, for an October
23 execution, due to a shortage of the usual mix of drugs used
for lethal injections.
The 800-member Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists (MSA)
announced concern in a Monday statement. The European Union –
where most of the drug is made – has indicated that it may curb
exporting propofol to the US if it is used in executions.
“We urge the Department of Corrections not to jeopardize the
safety of over 50 million patients who rely on this critical
medication for anesthesia during surgery each year,” MSA
president Dr. Larry Petersen said in a statement.
“A shortage of this medication will take the medical specialty
of anesthesiology back 20 years, leading to more complications in
the operating room, an increased rate of nausea and vomiting
after surgery, and extended time required to wake up from
anesthesia after a procedure,” he said.
The German company that makes the bulk of propofol, Fresenious
Kabi, has gone as far as launching a website exhibiting the
ramifications of using the drug in US executions. The Food and
Drug Administration has also indicated that it is worried about
any action that could impact propofol supply in the US.
Missouri and other states have turned to propofol in
administering the death penalty after makers of the three-drug
mix usually used in lethal injections stopped selling it to
entities that intend on using it for executions.
Propofol has never been used for an execution in the US.
Missouri announced in 2012 that it would turn to the anesthetic
to put Allen Nicklasson to death on October 23. In November, a
second death row inmate is scheduled to be executed. The Missouri
Department of Corrections says it has only enough propofol for
three executions before February 2015, when the last batch
expires.
the sedative normally used to execute prisoners, making it the
seventh state – including Missouri – which lacks the traditional execution drug to some
degree.
The European Union is reviewing its export policy which excludes
goods used in “capital punishment, torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
If propofol is added to the list, companies like Fresensius Kabi
would have to apply for a separate export license for every
shipment to a hospital or clinic, which would slow access to the
drug significantly.
Copyright: RT