( CNN ) The American Pharmacists Association is discouraging its members from participating in executions . On Monday , the group voted at its annual meeting to adopt a ban as an official policy , stating that `` such activities are fundamentally contrary to the role of pharmacists as healthcare providers . '' This bolsters the association 's previous positions to oppose the use of the term `` drug '' for chemicals used in lethal injection and to oppose laws that require or prohibit pharmacists from participation in lethal injection cases . The group acted this week because of increased public attention on lethal injection , said Michelle Spinnler , spokeswoman for the American Pharmacists Association . That spotlight includes a January Supreme Court decision to stay the execution for three death row inmates in Oklahoma . This was prompted by Clayton Lockett 's execution by lethal injection nearly one year ago in which he writhed on a gurney for 43 minutes before he died from a heart attack . In Georgia last month , the execution of female death row inmate Kelly Renee Gissendaner was postponed as a precaution when the execution team checked the medications and discovered they looked cloudy . Thirty-two sates allow capital punishment , and lethal injection is still the most common method . Last month , Utah Gov . Gary R. Herbert signed a law reinstating firing squads as a method of execution in cases in which lethal injection medications are not available . Of the eight inmates currently on death row in Utah , three opted for the new choice of death by firing squad . Pentobarbital is the preferred drug used for lethal injection . In Texas , the department of criminal justice told CNN in March they are running out of their supply . In July 2011 , Lundbeck Inc. , the manufacturer of pentobarbital , decided to no longer provide the drug to prisons for use in capital punishment . The companies that manufacture the products traditionally used in executions almost unilaterally decided to stop selling to institutions that used the products for that purpose , so states then turned to compounded preparations , Spinnler said . `` Pharmacists should not be involved in preparation of these products or involved in executions in any other way . '' she says . The new declaration by the American Pharmacists Association aligns with positions held by other professional medical organizations such as the American Medical Association , the American Nurses Association and the American Board of Anesthesiology .
The American Pharmacists Association passed a new policy banning members from participating in lethal injections . Pharmacists say role as health care providers conflicts with participation in lethal injection . The pharmacy association first adopted a policy against lethal injection in 1985 .