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Jack Kevorkian meant well
By Mary Shaw
Posted onJune 9, 2011
The Intrepid Report
http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/2095
Dr. Jack Kevorkian passed away on June 3. He died the old-fashioned
way - in a Michigan hospital bed while suffering from pulmonary
thrombosis. Kevorkian, also known as `Dr. Death,' was famous as a
proponent and provider of physician-assisted suicide for the
terminally ill.
At the beginning, Michigan had no law against assisted suicide.
Kevorkian eventually went to prison when he crossed the line and gave
a lethal injection to a man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. He
videotaped the event and provided the video to the CBS program `60
Minutes.' Unlike Kevorkian's other patients, the Lou Gehrig's sufferer
was unable to administer the lethal drug to himself. Kevorkian was
subsequently convicted of second-degree murder. And the Michigan
legislature proceeded to outlaw assisted suicide.
Some people call Kevorkian a murderer and a monster. I call him
compassionate. He admirably wanted to relieve the suffering of the
terminally ill. He just did so with a bit too much drama. Fortunately,
his legacy lives on with a number of right-to-die organizations around
the world that are fighting for what I see as the final human right:
the right to choose a quick and dignified death over a painful,
lingering one.
As a result of the work of these organizations, physician-assisted
suicide is now available for terminally ill patients in Oregon,
Washington, and Montana, as well as a small handful of European
nations. Everywhere else, the terminally ill are forced to endure
sometimes horrific pain at the end of life, or end their misery with a
plastic bag, a noose, or other undignified means. And those sad,
desperate acts will continue as long as so-called `pro-life' factions
keep fighting attempts to widen the acceptance of physician-assisted
suicide and provide more people with the power to choose a good death
over a horrible, slow, painful one.
This is not euthanasia, where some people worry that the disabled will
be killed to get them out of the way. Where physician-assisted suicide
is legal, the patient must demonstrate a rational and clear-headed
desire to die, and must pass medical screenings to prove that they are
terminally ill.
Sometimes those on the `pro-life' side point to hospice care as an
alternative that would provide palliative care to relieve suffering at
the end of life. But the fact remains that modern medical science
cannot yet provide adequate pain control for all dying patients, even
by the best hospice organizations.
While physicians are sworn to do no harm, is it not harmful to force a
dying patient to suffer a slow, lingering death against his or her
will, perhaps kept alive artificially with respirators and feeding
tubes?
When a pet becomes ill to the point where it is near death and
suffering uncontrollably, a veterinarian will not think twice before
recommending that the pet be euthanized, to put the animal out of its
misery.
So why do we treat our dying pets with more mercy than we treat our
dying people?
Dr. Kevorkian saw this double standard and chose to fight it. For that
I admire him. May he now rest in peace.
Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist, with a focus on
politics, human rights, and social justice. She is a former
Philadelphia Area Coordinator for the Nobel-Prize-winning human rights
group Amnesty International, and her views appear regularly in a
variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites. Note that the ideas
expressed here are the author's own, and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of Amnesty International or any other organization with
which she may be associated. E-mail:[email protected].
By Mary Shaw
Posted onJune 9, 2011
The Intrepid Report
http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/2095
Dr. Jack Kevorkian passed away on June 3. He died the old-fashioned
way - in a Michigan hospital bed while suffering from pulmonary
thrombosis. Kevorkian, also known as `Dr. Death,' was famous as a
proponent and provider of physician-assisted suicide for the
terminally ill.
At the beginning, Michigan had no law against assisted suicide.
Kevorkian eventually went to prison when he crossed the line and gave
a lethal injection to a man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. He
videotaped the event and provided the video to the CBS program `60
Minutes.' Unlike Kevorkian's other patients, the Lou Gehrig's sufferer
was unable to administer the lethal drug to himself. Kevorkian was
subsequently convicted of second-degree murder. And the Michigan
legislature proceeded to outlaw assisted suicide.
Some people call Kevorkian a murderer and a monster. I call him
compassionate. He admirably wanted to relieve the suffering of the
terminally ill. He just did so with a bit too much drama. Fortunately,
his legacy lives on with a number of right-to-die organizations around
the world that are fighting for what I see as the final human right:
the right to choose a quick and dignified death over a painful,
lingering one.
As a result of the work of these organizations, physician-assisted
suicide is now available for terminally ill patients in Oregon,
Washington, and Montana, as well as a small handful of European
nations. Everywhere else, the terminally ill are forced to endure
sometimes horrific pain at the end of life, or end their misery with a
plastic bag, a noose, or other undignified means. And those sad,
desperate acts will continue as long as so-called `pro-life' factions
keep fighting attempts to widen the acceptance of physician-assisted
suicide and provide more people with the power to choose a good death
over a horrible, slow, painful one.
This is not euthanasia, where some people worry that the disabled will
be killed to get them out of the way. Where physician-assisted suicide
is legal, the patient must demonstrate a rational and clear-headed
desire to die, and must pass medical screenings to prove that they are
terminally ill.
Sometimes those on the `pro-life' side point to hospice care as an
alternative that would provide palliative care to relieve suffering at
the end of life. But the fact remains that modern medical science
cannot yet provide adequate pain control for all dying patients, even
by the best hospice organizations.
While physicians are sworn to do no harm, is it not harmful to force a
dying patient to suffer a slow, lingering death against his or her
will, perhaps kept alive artificially with respirators and feeding
tubes?
When a pet becomes ill to the point where it is near death and
suffering uncontrollably, a veterinarian will not think twice before
recommending that the pet be euthanized, to put the animal out of its
misery.
So why do we treat our dying pets with more mercy than we treat our
dying people?
Dr. Kevorkian saw this double standard and chose to fight it. For that
I admire him. May he now rest in peace.
Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist, with a focus on
politics, human rights, and social justice. She is a former
Philadelphia Area Coordinator for the Nobel-Prize-winning human rights
group Amnesty International, and her views appear regularly in a
variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites. Note that the ideas
expressed here are the author's own, and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of Amnesty International or any other organization with
which she may be associated. E-mail:[email protected].