Today, Jack Kevorkian was released from prison after serving nearly eight years of his ten to twenty-five year sentence. He was given credit for good behavior, hence his release.
WDIV, Channel Four in Detroit, has a good recap of his legal journey here.
The survey on their website said that 72% of people responding thought it was a waste of time and taxpayers money to prosecute him.
Although we live in what is supposed to be an industrialized enlightened nation and if our pets become terminally ill or have no quality of life left and can be euthanized by a veterinarian, humans, except in Oregon, do not have the same option legally. So essentially, pets are allowed to die with more dignity than humans.
Kevorkian is certainly eccentric and not your normal guy. His artwork is pretty bizarre. He on more than one occasion showed up in court in costume, most notably in colonial garb. He dared the authorities to charge him and make it stick. He was acquitted or the charges dismissed many times. He was finally prosecuted successfully after a tape of the assisted suicide of Thomas Youk was aired on 60 Minutes. Mike Wallace was at the prison today when Kevorkian was released and I'm sure there will be an interview soon with Mr. Wallace.
Kevorkian insists that although he will not assist in any suicides, he will continue to educate and be an advocate.
What do you think of physician assisted suicide for the terminally ill? What if you were terminally ill, or a family member was and chose this?
Lisa
I think that many are worried that if society takes a step in that direction then the next thing we know, we are killing people because they are going to die anyway and doing it against thier will or because they are costing us all money for being sick or harvesting organs or other far fetched ideas like that. We do tend to get carried away. I don't think we can continue to assist people to thier death in some hotel room. That isn't a good death either. Right to die people are distancing themselves from Dr. Death because they feel he has hurt the cause,
D
Posted by: Donna | June 01, 2007 at 10:33 PM
Lisa
It's hard to know exactly what one would do,but given certain circumstances I'm not sure I would rule the dignified death out for myself and it puts undue stress on a loved one to expect them to assist you even though they might want to.I do know it's hard to watch a pet suffer and can only imagine if it was a spouse or a parent.I guess I'm kind of on the fence on this one.
Posted by: Nancy Murphy | June 02, 2007 at 09:02 PM
Jim and I have both decided that, in the case of terminal illness, we would help each other out. This only works because we trust each other to do the deed if necessary, and not do it if not.
It's one of those things that needs to be an individual decision, and, I must say that I know a lot of people for whom assisted dignified death would not be a good option.
Posted by: vero | June 03, 2007 at 03:26 AM
what can i say? after the things i have gone through lately, and the fact that we keep coming up with drugs that prolong peoples lives regardless of the quality, i have to wonder at the irony of it all. we can prolong life at a horrendous cost/burden to not just the family, but the cost of health care in general for everyone! oh, THAT's the reason we don't advocate death with dignity! gotta take care of the drug companies and the AMA... as for me... let me go...quietly, and if i need a little shove when it comes time and my wife goes before? i hope there is someone there who loves me enough to give a little nudge...
Posted by: sandi | June 04, 2007 at 07:16 AM
You're my sis, Sandi, and you know I love you. Don't' have to say anymore and I know it'd be the same if I were in that position.
I also think that scenario happens a lot more than anyone knows or talks about.
Posted by: Lisa | June 05, 2007 at 11:39 AM
Hospice seems a good alternative. I have seen a friend go through this situation and her mother was given drugs for her pain and died a very dignified death. I have not had to make any decision like that--my 91 year old father stubbornly stays in his home and will die there with the care of Hospice workers. All I can say is that pets are animals and humans are not. I am against assisted suicide, but in years to come as I age (and I'm pretty old now) I may change my mind.
Posted by: Judy Miller | June 05, 2007 at 07:18 PM
I find it very intersting that no one really wants to touch this one with a ten foot pole. Me included. I waver all over the place.
I think it's something that has the potential for a lot of abuse and something that should be done only after much consultation with family/loved ones and medical experts and something not done willy-nilly.
But again, if I were terminally ill, I don't know what I would think. If a loved one asked me to give them that nudge, I think I could and would.
But it's all hypothetical at this point.
My mom died in hospice and I was disgusted with hospice and got a woman fired because she was such a bitch and so cold to me. I don't think that is typical of hospice, at all, though.
So bottom line: I'm on the fence too. You don't know until you're in that position.
Posted by: Lisa | June 06, 2007 at 03:48 AM
well, i watched my mom watch my step dad die (DNR)its a very hard thing to watch...and not want to change your mind.. it seems like for a split second...maybe even less than that...there may have been doubt...but you know what? Ted turned and told my mom "honey, I have to go now, I love you" and all was right. i was so honored to have been there, he had waited until the last child checked in...only a small tear fell on his cheek. he was ready, they had made the decision...me? all my papers say DNR, no tubes, no feeding... i agree with martin's statement that it probably happens more than we know...just one more (unsupervised/unrestricted) push of the button on that morphine drip... thank you
Posted by: sandi | June 06, 2007 at 09:57 AM
I admit it, I'm a huge liberal until it comes to the issue of life. I truly believe God will take you home when it's your time. However, I also admit I don't have any experience with prolonged illness leading to the inevitable. So, though I'm not on the fence I'm not sure my opinion due to my lack of experience counts for much.
Posted by: Alaina | June 06, 2007 at 08:31 PM
I think that anyone who wants to dies should be allowed to die. Having a place where you can go to have assistance with this would be so much more humane for the person and those that they are leaving behind than walking into a house after they have put a gun to their head and pulled a trigger. It would also give people the opportunity to talk to someone before they commit suicide to reconfirm them that there are other options than death.
It is also ironic that our society doesn't allow for "assisted suicide", but seems to support capital punishment with a legal system full of flaws that sometimes wrongfully convicts the accused. We are okay with killing innocent people that are begging to live, but not with helping those people who want to die.
Posted by: Bobbi | June 07, 2007 at 12:45 PM
Very introspective repsonses. It's an individual thing. I'm in a bit of awe that so many different thoughts were offered and no conclusion was made and we all said, "Wellllll, I don't know."
It's okay not to know. Life, and death, are like that. There are no right answers to some things.
Posted by: Lisa | June 08, 2007 at 01:15 AM