Doctor Jack Kevorkian was born on May 28, 1928 in Pontiac, Michigan to Armenian immigrants. He attended the University of Michigan in 1945, while pursuing a doctoral profession until 1952 when he graduated from the University of Michigan’s Medical School. He showed an interest in pathology (the study of dead tissue to determine cause of death) which would lead to his pseudonym, “Doctor Death.”
Kevorkian’s original plan was to perform medical experiments on death-row convicts (in regards to pathology) by first experimenting on their unconscious bodies then injecting lethal drugs to kill them. However, societal views of capital punishment caused him to adjourn his plans. Shortly after, he developed a plan for “physician-assisted suicides” that would achieve similar goals.
Because these new patients were not convicts, he felt a responsibility to assure they met certain qualifications, including a terminal illness and a determined choice to go through with such a procedure.
Dr. Kevorkian eventually would assist in the suicide of some 130 people. A few of these cases stand out as important milestones to his journey.
His first patient’s name was Janet Adkins, a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. Before administering the “Mercitron”, he required that she exhaust every other alternative to his procedure, including an experimental procedure which utilized a new drug (THA). After all such alternatives failed, Kevorkian finally decided to proceed with the suicide and on June 4th, 1990, Janet Adkins died from the push of a button in the back of a Volkswagen van.
Following this first death, Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of two new women: Sherry Miller and Marjorie Wantz, who suffered from multiple sclerosis and pelvic pains respectively. This proved a new step for Kevorkian, who now did not require a terminal illness as he originally stated. He also instituted a new form of suicide with carbon monoxide inhalation.
His last assisted suicide was Thomas Youk, whom he directly lethally injected while on CBS’s 60 Minutes. Since he took direct action in killing Mr. Youk, he was charged with first-degree murder and was eventually imprisoned under second-degree murder and delivery of a controlled substance.
Dr. Kevorkian was met with much opposition throughout his crusade for decent death. Many people feared that, as the only administrator for the physician-assisted suicide, he would eventually amass too much control and would abuse the power of life-or-death decisions of his patients. Also, many people questioned whether the purposeful act of ending life could be ethical in any circumstances. Doctors, especially, felt that the blatant violation of the Hippocratic Oath was enough to have his medical license revoked. As Dr. Leon Kass stated, “This is the deepest violation of the meaning of being a healer. It would be impossible to determine whether patient requests for assisted suicide were voluntary and informed.” Then, the religious aspect of anti-suicide played a role in peoples’ opinions on Dr. Kevorkian. Most religions believe that taking life is always a sin.
Not every person was against Kevorkian, though. Many people thought that Kevorkian allowed people who were terminally ill to die with dignity. Kevorkian agreed with this sentiment of the “quality of life, as opposed to maintaining existence.” Further, it allowed people to control the circumstances of hteir death. When people want to die, “quickly, painlessly, at home, surrounded by family and friends,” it is no wonder Kevorkian’s procedures gained popularity.
It did not matter what was popular, however, when the judicial system became involved in the Kevorkian cases. Initially, Kevorkian was let off because there was no law in Michigan which stated that assisted suicide was illegal. Judge Alice Gilbert told Dr. Kevorkian he was prohibited of participating in any more assisted suicides. Obviously, he didn’t stop, and later that year, he was again acquitted through a loophole of the Fifth Amendment. Finally, after the Youk case, they could charge Kevorkian with direct murder, and he was charged with second-degree murder and delivery of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to up to some 32 years in prison.
By this time, he had aided in 130 suicides, while leaving a permanent mark on the United States’ history.
