Kevorkian Will Not Assist In Any Suicides

After More Than 8 Years In Prison, Kevorkian Says Assisted Suicide "Should Be Legal"

(CBS)  Jack Kevorkian, who's now 79 years old, was released from prison this past Friday after more than eight years behind bars. He had been convicted of murder for ending the life of a terminally ill man, Tom Youk, even though Youk and his family had begged Kevorkian to do it.

Back in 1998, Kevorkian gave 60 Minutes a tape he had made of Youk’s final minutes, and we aired part of it on the broadcast.

Kevorkian wanted to force prosecutors to charge him because he believed that by winning in court he could make euthanasia legal — that is, death by doctor at the request of a terminally ill patient. But he didn’t get the verdict he had expected.

Well now, as a free man, will Kevorkian continue his crusade? To find out, Mike Wallace and a 60 Minutes team flew last Friday to the prison in Coldwater, Mich., for his release.

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He says he's looking forward to quiet nights without snoring cellmates. And as Kevorkian and Wallace drove out of the prison, the doctor never looked back.

Kevorkian admits he has waited a long time for his release, yet he says he doesn't feel like a freeman. Asked to explain, Kevorkian says, "This is a virtual tether. Parole is a virtual tether.

And he will be tethered to his parole for two years, with restrictions designed to prevent him from promoting or participating in assisted suicide.

"I can't talk in detail about the procedure or advocate a procedure, especially with individuals," he explains.

He says he cannot offer counsel to anybody or advise people how to commit suicide. And he cannot be present at a suicide or euthanasia.

"Without violating your parole, Jack, what do you do to continue your crusade for assisted suicide and euthanasia?" Wallace asks.

"Well," Kevorkian says, "I'm going to work with activist groups trying to get it legalized. And putting my voice in with theirs to legalize it whenever I can. Either through legislatures or through courts if possible."

"What would you do if a desperate person comes to you, Jack Kevorkian, and says, 'I need help,' someone terminally ill who comes to you in terrible pain, wants you to lead them out of their misery? What do you tell them?" Wallace asks.

"Well, it would be painful for me but I'd have to refuse ‘em. Because I gave my word that I won’t do it again," Kevorkian says.

It was one of the conditions he agreed to to get out of prison. What got him into prison was the tape of Tom Youk.

Youk led an active life; he restored and raced vintage cars. But at the age 50 he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, a devastating, incurable illness that destroyed his muscles. He lost the use of his legs and then his arms. His family says he was in terrible pain, had trouble breathing and swallowing, and was choking on his own saliva. So they wrote Dr. Kevorkian, who lived nearby, and he videotaped his first meeting with Tom.

"Trying to talk to Tom, you learned how bad he was. He couldn’t also make intelligible words barely intelligible," Kevorkian told Wallace in 1998. "And you could see him breathing, gasping, leaning back every time he tried to talk. He couldn't utter more than a few syllables at a time because of the weak muscles. And he was terrified of choking. Terrified!"

In that interview nine years ago, Kevorkian told 60 Minutes he had helped more than 100 people die by having the patient pull the switch to start the lethal drugs flowing. And Tom Youk could have done that. But this time, Kevorkian suggested that he give Youk a lethal injection. He said that was more reliable and more humane and he wanted to push the public debate from doctor assisted suicide to euthanasia.

"This is better than assisted suicide. I explained that to him. It’s better control. And then, he did agree," Kevorkian said.

Asked by Wallace how he knows Tom Youk agreed, Kevorkian said, "I had him sign, saying that he chose direct injection. And he signed it."

[DEDE990]

I PERSONALY THINK THAT DR.KEVORKIAN SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN PRISON.....IM SORRY BUT THATS WHAT HE DESERVED

[donnie900]

Is there a way to make a death so complicated that it looks like suicide? And by what complication? Medicine??

Is there a way to make a murder look like suicide? And could advise by a self proclaimed doctor in the medical profession be such that it isn't suicide? But murder??

Why are smart people so stupid? Is there such a thing as intellectual suffering? The suffering I'm feeling right now of the rationalization of a medical professional helping people die?

[donnie900]

Can we all at least agree that death is loosely associated with murder?

Can we also agree that suicide by anyone other than one's own self is questionable at best, if not murderous?

[donnie900]

How many PHDs do I gotta get before I can kill somebody?

[donnie900]

How do you know death lacks suffering? Are they being incapacitated to the point where they can't convey their pain? Or are they out of pain?

Don't you see what I'm asking? How do you know this stuff? Is a man being boiled in a pot of oil with a gag on his mouth "not in pain"? Who are you serving? Your sense? Or his?

[herbias]

If you want to see how American Doctors reacted to Kevorkians comments with Larry King go to http://www.mediacurves.com/NationalMediaFocus/J6431/

[herbias]

If you want to see how American Doctors reacted to Kevorkians comments with Larry King go to http://www.mediacurves.com/NationalMediaFocus/J6431/

[herbias]

If you want to see how American Doctors reacted to Kevorkians comments with Larry King go to http://www.mediacurves.com/NationalMediaFocus/J6431/

[mikealford3]

esesel,
I agree, unless someone is in those shoes they will never know the miles walked nor the obstacles that they have endured. I also agree that it is your choice and should you choose to end your suffering, I wish you and your family the peace that you so deserve. You are a courageous person for living with ALS and for whatever decision you choose.

I wish you and your family only the best.

[esesel]

I have been suffering the nightmare of Lou Gehrig's disease for nearly 5 years. I am in the same condition as the man Dr. Kevorkian "assistance" was, which led to his imprisonment. I understand completely why the man chose death over misery. Until you've spent one day in my skin, you cannot judge why I too should have the right to chose a dignified death over constant, unrelenting torment.
I also live in Oregon, the only state which allows Dr. assisted suicide. Because my life insurance policy won't pay if I commit suicide, only this fact keeps me from exercising my right to die a dignified death. My prayers for release go unanswered.

[mikealford3]

Well, theres a presumption that death lacks suffering. Right? Is that a wrong thing to speculate about? Is peace death?

Posted by donnie900 at 07:39 AM : Jun 05, 2007

Questions for you donnie, have you ever heard a dead person screem in agony, or throw up their lunch? Have you ever been to a funeral and heard the deceased complain?


donnie900,
I don't think you fully understand the topic. To answer your question, Death does lack suffering. The act of dieing however, is horrible and ugly. Once dead the suffering is over. Unless, the dead goes to he11.(provided you believe there is a he11, I do believe in heaven and he11.)

Fact is donnie, I have been dead, July 6, 1984 to be exact. 16 minutes, according to the EMTs that were transporting me. I did not feel any pain or suffering during that 16 minutes. I saw my grandfathers during that 16 minutes. One died of multiple gun shots to his head and the other from heart disease, they did not appear to be suffering.

As for peace in death, yes, a person can find peace within death.

[mikealford3]

GrammaWhamma,
I have thought about you 3:15 AM post. The idea of prolonging death is not correct. To prolong is to extend, therefore by extending life you are postponing death, not prolonging it. Life has a finite length of time because eventually all people die, therefore life can be prolonged by preventing death. The more days a person lives the more prolonged is the person's life. The actual length of a person's life can be calculated by determining the amount of time between birth and death. However, because once a person is dead that person will be dead for an infinite amount of time/eternity/forever. (barring they are not resusitated and returned to life.) Since death is considered forever, and forever can't be extended, YOU ACTUALLY CANNOT PROLONG DEATH.

[sfiske2]

My husband died of colon cancer in 2001.He had been on hospice for 2 mths & thought it was for pain management. 2 doctors had to diagnose him with only 6 months to live (1 was his oncologist, the other the hospice doctor who had never seen him). Pain meds were increased as my husband told the hospice nurse that he had some pain. Towards the end, I became very frustrated and said to the hospice nurse that I would call Dr. K if he weren%u2019t in prison. She responded that she didn%u2019t believe in that. The very next morning, she called me to say she%u2019d spoken with the doctor about my husband and they were increasing the pain meds. I asked her why? She said that sometimes when the pain meds are increased the patient goes ahead and passes on. Can someone please explain the moral difference between increasing pain meds and the injections Dr K gave? 1 difference %u2013 Dr K was upfront with the patient and had the patient%u2019s full awareness of what was going to happen.

[donnie900]

Death scares me. But you knew that, didn't you.

[donnie900]

A doctor shouldn't visit someone with intent of facilitating for their death intending the elimination of their suffering. A doctor is more a scientific endeavor than it is a spiritual, or superstitious one. It seems to me the better suited grim reeper for these people to be of a non-professional nature. Such as a monk or a priest.

[donnie900]

Sorry to keep rambling on but, if Dr. Kevorkian thinks its his job to alleviate pain and suffering via death, is not what he's doing dangerously close to a religion? And if its a religion, when does a patient's belief interfere with a professionals service? And vice versa? In other words, does someone become a doctor to facilitate for religious rituals? Or to cure the patient of their ailment?

I'm not entirely sure a doctor's job should be the elimination of suffering. The elimination of suffering is merely a healthy side effect of the original theme of curing one's ailment. Suffering comes in many many forms. Including things quite subjective. For instance, is it the job of a doctor to make someone wealthy? Is that too not a thing of suffering? Being poor?

[donnie900]

This debate sort of reminds me of SETI being secular.

[donnie900]

Well, theres a presumption that death lacks suffering. Right? Is that a wrong thing to speculate about? Is peace death? I don't know. How does the doc know? How does the patient?

[utena-2009]

And although I feel that people should never suffer against their will, part of me hopes that a terminally ill patient pushes a button that sends an armed nuclear missile straight to the heart of Agnim's hometown.

[utena-2009]

Well, Agnim, I'd have to say that you are one of the most callous people I've read.

Anyone who says 'You don't need a doctor to commit suicide. Just do it yourself' is essentially saying 'You don't need a doctor to perform an abortion. Just do it yourself.'

Such an attitude is callous and inhumane. Why should people be limited to jumping in front of a train, off a building, shooting themselves, cutting their wrists, bringing a toaster into the bath, or a combination of these methods, among many others, to kill themselves?.

Now, they certainly can't tell their family or friends about their plans, because that could leave them open to charges: 'Why didn't you stop them?' And when they come back and see their loved one with a plastic bag over their head, or blood all over the room, they are shocked and scarred, possibly for life. And on top of this, they can't even *be* with their loved one during their final moments.

As for 'do no harm', please refer to my previous post on this topic.