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Ohio Lawmakers Narrow Lethal Injection Bill


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Ohio lawmakers have removed a provision from a death penalty bill that doctors warned could lead to dangerous shortages of a widely used anesthetic.
          
At issue was a requirement that drugmakers be prohibited through contracts from restricting distribution of drugs that could be used in executions.
          
Dr. Robert Small, representing the Ohio Society of Anesthesiologists, told the Senate Civil Justice Committee Wednesday that such a prohibition could lead to shortages of the drug propofol, a widely used anesthetic in the U.S.
          
Small said it's likely the European Union would ban the drug's import if Ohio's bill became law, even though propofol is not currently proposed as an execution drug.
          
The GOP-controlled committee unanimously approved removing the contract language, which bill opponents had also argued was unconstitutional.