Source: http://www.patientsrightscouncil.org/site/the-real-jack-kevorkian/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 04:16:49+00:00

Document:
Since the death of his first “patient,” the media has frequently portrayed Jack Kevorkian as a retired pathologist whose only goal is to help end the unbearable suffering of terminal illness. The facts tell a different story.
How did Jack Kevorkian become well known?
He actively sought publicity for years before achieving it by his first “patient’s” death.
In 1989 a medical society publication turned him down when he wanted to advertise his death machine (3) and local newspapers rejected his attempt to place a display ad, (4) but the rejections led to news reports that gave him coverage previously lacking.
He “knew it would take a ‘bulls-eye'” to establish his “new specialty.” (5) By the Fall of 1989, he was screening possible “patients” with an eye to their publicity value.
He promised that hers would be the second death, but her relatives heard what was going on and “whisked her off.” (7) Kevorkian continued his quest.
What medical experience and training does Jack Kevorkian have?
His professional record is notable for its lack of any credentials which would qualify him to deal with depressed or dying people.
Isn’t Jack Kevorkian only trying to end suffering?
What is Jack Kevorkian’s goal?
The establishment of deadly human experimentation as a medical specialty is Kevorkian’s goal.
How do Jack Kevorkian’s “patients” die?
Doesn’t Jack Kevorkian limit his services to the terminally ill who are not depressed?
Q. How do you decide whom to help? Does the patient have to suffer from a life-threatening illness?
A. No, of course not. And it doesn’t have to be painful, as with quadriplegia. But your life quality has to be nil.
Q. And who decides that?
A. That’s up to physicians, and nobody can gainsay what doctors say. It all boils down to the integrity of the doctors….
Q. What about people who suffer emotionally and want to die?
Twenty-seven people died from June 1990 through January 1996 using one of Jack Kevorkian’s machines.
Published reports and court records indicate that the majority of Kevorkian’s twenty-seven “patients” did not fall within the generally described category of “terminally ill” (life expectancy of six months or less). Some reportedly could have lived for many more months or even for many years.
Aren’t we really talking about “death with dignity”?
No. The first three deaths provide an example.
JANET ADKINS, age 54, died 6/4/90, of a lethal dose of drugs.
MARJORIE WANTZ, age 58, died 10/23/91 of a lethal dose of drugs.
SHERRY MILLER, age 43, died 10/23/91 of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Aren’t other euthanasia leaders less radical than Kevorkian?
No, In fact, many have expressed support for him and approval of his goals.
Pit Bakker, chairwoman of the Dutch Voluntary Society, called Kevorkian’s death machine, “a technical innovation which brings no new ethical elements” to euthanasia debate.
Is Opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia just an attempt by religious fanatics to impose their beliefs on others?
Yet, since Kevorkian began sending people to the grave, voters in Washington and California have defeated ballot initiatives that would have legalized Kevorkian-type practices. (97) Neither state is known as a bastion of religious activism.
During the California campaign, major newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle opposed the measure. (98) So did organizations like the California State Hospice Association and California Commission on Aging.(99) These could scarcely be described as religious publications or groups.
Are individuals who point out the dangers of euthanasia and assisted suicide seeking to impose suffering on others?
Those who do the most to alleviate suffering–the man who brings meals to AIDS patients, the woman who cares for a frail parent, the hospice nurse whose patients are lovingly comforted, the oncologist who takes the time to kill pain, not patients–are the most vocal in their opposition to the practices that Kevorkian considers ethical.
He was correct. Our civilization and our society are at stake.
Jack Kevorkian typifies the direction in which the euthanasia movement is headed. His goals and actions provide an excellent illustration of what could become commonplace if his dark vision of the future were to become a reality.
2. “Death, by appointment only,” Health Care Weekly Review, 8/24/87,p.1.
3. Rita Marker, Deadly Compassion–The Death of Ann Humphry and the Truth About Euthanasia (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1993). p. 166.
4. Kevorkian, Prescription Medicide, p.215.
10. Jack Kevorkian, Speech given to the National Press Club, Washington, D.C., October 27,1992.
11.Michigan v Kevorkian, 92-115190-FC, 92-DA-5303-AR, Plaintiff’s Brief, 4/22/92,p.31.
13. In The Matter of the Accusation and First Supplemental Accusation Against Jack Kevorkian before the Division of Medical Quality, Medical Board of California, Department of Consumer Affairs, State of California, Complainant’s Hearing Brief, Case No. D-5111,OAH No, L-60083, 12/28/93, p.29. Hereafter cited as California Medical Board, Complainant’s Brief, 12/28/93.
15. Transcript of Testimony of Jack Kevorkian, M.D., in Case No. 90-3909630-AZ, Michigan v. Kevorkian, Oakland County (MI) Circuit Court, 6/8/90, p.40. Hereafter cited as Kevorkian Testimony, 6/8/90.
16.Californian Medical Board, Complainant’s Brief, 12/28/93, p.9.
21. California Medical Board, Complainant’s Brief, 12/28/93,pp.10-11.
22. “Death, by appointment only,” Health Care Weekly Review, August 24, 1987.
23. “Mercy’s Friend or Foe?” Newsweek, December 28, 1992,p.36.
24.”Death Becomes Him,” Contra Costa Times, 12/14/93, p.2F and “I Am Not Afraid,” Detroit Free Press Magazine, 2/3/91, p.8.
25.”California Suspends Kevorkian’s License,” Los Angeles Times, 4/28/93, p.A3.
26. California Medical Board, Complainants Brief, 12/28/93, p. 19.
28.Kevorkian, Prescription: Medicide, p. 214 (emphasis added).
30. Jack Kevorkian, “A Comprehensive Bioethical Code for Medical Exploitation Of Humans Facing Imminent and Unavoidable Death,”Medicine and Law, vol. 5 (1986), pp.194-195.
32. Kevorkian, Prescription: Medicide, p. 200.
33. Alice Gilbert, “The Legal Response to Assisted Suicide,” Ohio Northern University Law Review, vol. 20, no. 3 (1994), p. 674 and California Medical Board, Complainants Brief, 12/28/93, p. 35.
34. Gilbert, Ohio Northern University Law Review (1994), p. 674.
35. “Suicide device mustn’t be used, judge rules”, Grand Rapids Press, 6/9/90 and Kevorkian Testimony, 6/8/90,pp. 11-12.
36. Jack Kevorkian, “A Fail-Safe Model for Justifiable Medically-Assisted Suicide,” American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, vol. 13, no. 1 (1992), pp. 11 & 28.
39. Jack Kevorkian, “A Controlled Auction Market Is a Practical Solution to the Shortage of Transplantable Organs,” Medicine and Law, vol. 11, nos. 1,2 (1992), p. 49.
42. After the deaths of Sherry Miller and Marjorie Wantz in 1991, Kevorkian’s Michigan medical license was suspended, leaving him without access to controlled drugs.
43. “Doctor Invents ‘Self-Execution’ Machine,” San Francisco Chronicle, 10/28/89.
44. “Suicide Machine Used for First Time,” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/6/90, p. A4, referring to a 1989 Detroit Free Press article.
45. “In Royal Oak: The Death Machine,” Detroit Free Press Magazine, 3/18/1990 and “A Vital Woman Chooses Death,” People Magazine, 6/25/90,p.43.
46. “New Kevorkian ‘death machine,'” Medical Tribune, 4/4/91.
47. “Lethal Injection,” Detroit News 6/6/90, p. 6A.
48. In his testimony before Judge Alice Gilbert, Dr. Fredric Rieders, laboratory director at National Medical Services, Inc., said the death machine did not work as Kevorkian had contended. Rather than dying from the effects of potassium chloride, Janet Adkins had died of an overdose of the sedative. “Witness: Kevorkian was ready to ‘finish job,'” Detroit News. 12/13/90.
49. “Witness: Kevorkian was ready to ‘finish job'” Detroit News, 12/13/90.
50. “Suicide Doctor Says He Has Another Death Machine”, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/19/91. p.A1.
52.”Michigan Furor Over Doctor’s Role in 2 More Suicides,” San Francisco Chronicle, 10/25/91, p. A3; “Kevorkian watches as 2 women kill themselves with suicide machines,” Detroit News, 10/24/91; and Michigan v. Kevorkian, 4/11/92, p. xviii.
54. Washington Initiative 119, Sec. 2 (7); California Proposition 161, Sec. 2525.2 (j); Oregon “Death with Dignity Act,” Sec. 1.01 (12).
55. J. Kevorkian, in speech to National Press Club. “‘Dr. Death’: No law is needed on euthanasia,” USA Today, October 28, 1992, p. 6A.
56. Geoffrey Fieger, Letter to the Editor, Detroit Free Press, 12/11/90.
57. Kevorkian Testimony, 6/8/90, pp.43-44.
58. Jack Kevorkian, Written Statement to Court, 8/17/90, p. 11 (emphasis in orginal).
59. “Kevorkian Speaks His Mind,” Time, 5/31/93, p. 39.
60. “Kevorkian assists in 12th suicide,” Detroit News, 2/9/93.
61. “Kevorkian: Death must be an option,” USA Today, 2/22/94, p.2A.
62. “While Out on Bail, Kevorkian Attends a Doctor’s Suicide,” New York Times, 11/23/93, p. A1.
63. “Profession condemns doctor,” Detroit Free Press, 6/7/90, p. 14A.
64. “Doctor Ordered Not to Use Suicide Device,” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/9/90, p. A1.
65. “Kevorkian Begins Ballot Drive for Suicide Measure,” New York Times, 1/31/94, p.A6.
66. Letter to the Editor, New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 324, no. 20 (May 16, 1991), pp. 1434-1435.
67. “What Drove Woman to Suicide Machine,” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/7/90, p. A2.
68. “A Vital Woman Chooses Death,” People Magazine, 6/25/90, p. 42.
69. Gilbert, Ohio Northern University Law Review, p. 679 and California Medical Board, Complainant’s Brief, 12/28/93, p. 59.
70. California Medical Board, Complainant’s Brief, 12/28/93, p. 64.
71. Michigan v. Kevorkian, 4/11/92, p. xi.
72.”Murder charges for Dr. Death? “Detroit News, 12/19/91.
74. Michigan v. Kevorkian, 4/22/92, pp. xi-xiii.
75. Michigan v. Kevorkian, Oakland County Circuit Court, 92-115190-FC, 92-DA-5303-AR, Plaintiff’s Brief in Support of Answer to Motion to Quash Information and Dismiss Case, 4/22/92, p. xiv. Hereafter cited at Michigan v.Kevorkian, 4/22/92.
76. California Medical Board, Complainant’s Brief, 12/28/93, p. 67.
77. Transcript of Testimony of Sherry Miller, in Case No. 90-390963-AZ, Michigan v. Kevorkian, Oakland County (MI) Circuit Court, 6/8/90, pp. 184-187.
79. Michigan v. Kevorkian, 4/22/92, p. ix.
80. Time Lines (newsletter of the Hemlock Society U.S.A.), January-February 1994, p. 1.
82. Sidney Rosoff, in an interview on “Buchanan and Company,” a nationally syndicated radio program, 8/20/93.
83. Sidney Rosoff, in a letter to the editor, New York Times, 8/21/93.
84.National Hemlock Society, Press release, Eugene, Oregon, 6/6/90.
85. National Hemlock Society, Press release, Eugene, Oregon, 10/24/91.
86. “Founder defends euthanasia action,” The Lima News (Lima, Ohio), 10/16/93, p. B1.
87. Paul Verschuur, “Euthanasia Advocates Say Death Machine Raises Few New Issues,”AP wire service, 6/7/90.
88. “Dr. Death’s trial intrigues legal experts,” The Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio), 8/19/93, p. A6.
89. Verschuur, AP wire service, 6/7/90.
90. “Doctor who helped in death gets support,” Detroit Free Press, 6/7/90.
91. “Defiant Kevorkian vows to break Michigan law,” Vindicator (Youngstown, OH), 2/21/93, p. A13.
92. “Kevorkian Assists Another,” Detroit Free Press, 2/16/93.
93. Ellen Goodman, “Wiping Off the Slate,” San Francisco Chronicle, 12/28/93, p. A17.
94. “Kevorkian helps 12th patient end life,” Detroit Free Press, 2/9/93.
95. “California Suspends Kevorkian’s License,” Los Angeles Times, 4/28/93, p. A3.
96. “Suicide may be murder,” Detroit Free Press, 2/6/93. p. 10A.
97. Washington voters defeated Initiative 119 in 1991, California citizens turned down a similar measure, Proposition 161, in 1992.
98. “Physician-Assisted Death: Is This Measure the Answer?” Los Angeles Times, 10/14/92 and “The Chronicle Recommends,” San Francisco Chronicle, 10/29/92.
99.”NO on 161″ campaign material.
100. “Would it have made a difference if they were men?” Detroit Free Press, 11/4/91.
101. “Killing mustn’t be part of the healing art,” USA Today, 10/28/91, p. 12A.
102. Syndicated columnist, Debra Saunders, “Frankenstein Lives in Michigan,” San Francisco Chronicle, 3/3/93, p. A14.
103. Charles Krauthammer, “Make Dr. Kevorkian a test case–and then throw the book at him,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 23/6/93, p.1B.
104. 12th suicide Kevorkian assists in”, Detroit News, 12/9/9/3, p. 1B (emphasis added).
105. “Kevorkian Charged in Assisted Suicide,” Washington Post, 8/18/93, p.11A.
106. Bill Bolte, “Be wary of these ‘last rights,'” USA Today, 2/24/93, p. 13A.
107. “As He Hoped, Kevorkian is Charged in Suicide,” New York Times, 8/18/93, p. A7.

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