Jack Kevorkian

[Italiahaircolor]

I think that everyone, regardless of age, should have the right to dignity and the right to control their life.

With that said, I think if someone is going to practice as Dr. Kevorkian practiced, desecration must be used. I don't think it's appropriate for a 15 year old who is otherwise healthy to have option...but if the same 15 year is dying a slow, painful death, then they should have the same luxury of choice as someone much older.

 

[Jessie702]

Please dont jump on me, but no, i dont agree with assisted-suicide.Im sorry, but we cant control everything ourselves, and think we need to stop trying. Yes, i think people should go with some dignity, but it is not choice to decide when its time to leave. My father, was in a lot of pain in the end, until his kidneys shut down, and the pain was gone, but it took awhile for him to pass. While it killed me to see him like that, it was the natural order of things. When people start deciding when they want to end their lives due to illness, it interupts the natural order of life. I can say this, due to my experince in the funeral home and my own life. My Godfather was in a lot of pain, and in the end, in a hospice, which ended the pain due to medicine, but he went away when it was his time. That is why there are hospices around, to help ease the pain of the passing, but letting it happen naturally, and with some dignity.

 

[Kaleigh]

Had a super close friend who died of ALS, he really would have loved the services of Kevorkian. I have a plan in place that when the time comes, I will go into a deep sleep and won't wake up. I have had soooo many deaths, too many in fact. I have seen the suffering, and have seen Hopsice being a blessing, but at the same time, not enough to end the suffering...

It's a very personal decision obviously. My family knows my wishes.

My body, my decision. My right.

 

[HollyS]

I just recently watched HBO's movie about Jack Kevorkian, "You Don't Know Jack."

Definitely intrigued me and I thought it was worthy of watching.

Without getting into religion (I know this is hard) what are your thoughts on his practices? Do you think his sentencing was fair?

Oddly enough, given my religion, I don't have major issues with "Dr. Death". He has only facilitated the deaths of those who have asked. (At least, I'm not aware of others.) Can anyone really say, without any doubt in their mind, that they would not consider taking their own life if faced with something as horrific as ALS? If I'm being honest with myself - - and my god - - I cannot swear that I would not give it some serious thought.

I certainly don't want to shout from a soapbox, ranting and raving to desperate terminally ill people, telling them they may not choose the hour and method of their death.

Should assisting a suicide be considered murder or manslaughter? Speaking from a position of compassion, I'd say no. Not if the deceased left ample evidence that they wanted and accepted such assistance. If the deceased has made the choice, who are we to tell them "No"? We put down suffering animals without a second thought.

Now, if someone decides, on their own, to play 'mercy killer' . . . that's entirely different. Yes, that's murder.

 

[packrat]

I wouldn't let my pets lay there and suffer in agony, and I'm sure they're not wondering what happens when they die and wondering why this happened to them and wondering if they deserve it, the way a human would, so why would I want my family to die like that? I watched my Uncle and my Grampa die, Uncle from cancer and my Grampa from his kidneys failing. Grampa went faster than my Uncle. Grampa slept most of the time, and they told me he wasn't in pain..and I don't know if I believe that. If I were a Dr. or a nurse, I would tell family he wasn't in pain even if I knew he was. My Uncle took a long time and it was one of the most heart/gut wrenching things I've ever seen in my life. On his morphine thing, there was some sort of default that he couldn't get more than a specific amount, at specific intervals. I looked. And I know my Aunt looked and both my cousins looked. Nobody wants their family members to die, but I personally would much rather have gathered in my Uncles room and held hands or done something while it was assisted than watching him contort and flail about and practically fall off the bed and lunge up and try to grab people and get to the point that restraints were considered, and the noises that a person makes in that situation..

My other grampa died when I was 14. Heart attack, boom, gone. I spent years agonizing over it b/c I never got to say goodbye, and it still, 22 years later, makes me cry to think of him, but I am very thankful that it was fast and over. He didn't have to endure the things my Uncle went thru..the indignities.

I can't stand to see anyone in pain. I've offered to take people's pets to the vet for them and sit w/the animal while it's put down when the owners can't bring themselves to do it. I know sometimes people don't want to be in there when it happens but I feel it's too clinical otherwise and would want the animal to feel a loving hand petting them as they went. The animal wouldn't know the difference, but I would. My Aunt/Uncle had to put their cat down a couple years ago, and Uncle was going to do it while Aunt was at work b/c she couldn't handle it. Mom thought Uncle was just going to drop the cat off and leave so she rushed 10 miles into town to the Vet so kitty would have a familiar face, and there sat Uncle..he wanted to leave but couldn't.

Sorry..went a bit long there but couldn't help it. Pets, humans, it doesn't matter to me, I don't want them to suffer.

 

[princesss]

I just recently watched HBO's movie about Jack Kevorkian, "You Don't Know Jack."

Definitely intrigued me and I thought it was worthy of watching.

Without getting into religion (I know this is hard) what are your thoughts on his practices? Do you think his sentencing was fair?

Oddly enough, given my religion, I don't have major issues with "Dr. Death". He has only facilitated the deaths of those who have asked. (At least, I'm not aware of others.) Can anyone really say, without any doubt in their mind, that they would not consider taking their own life if faced with something as horrific as ALS? If I'm being honest with myself - - and my god - - I cannot swear that I would not give it some serious thought.

I certainly don't want to shout from a soapbox, ranting and raving to desperate terminally ill people, telling them they may not choose the hour and method of their death.

Should assisting a suicide be considered murder or manslaughter? Speaking from a position of compassion, I'd say no. Not if the deceased left ample evidence that they wanted and accepted such assistance. If the deceased has made the choice, who are we to tell them "No"? We put down suffering animals without a second thought.

Now, if someone decides, on their own, to play 'mercy killer' . . . that's entirely different. Yes, that's murder.

I completely agree.

A few years ago I felt differently, and then I met my ex's mom. The second or third conversation I had with her was about her plan for when her time is up - she's a nurse with MS, and she'd given it serious thought. It really opened up my eyes - it gave her a lot of peace to have some control over an illness that controls her life, and to know that when she couldn't take it anymore, she wouldn't have to. I don't know what I would do in her shoes, but I don't think that there's anything wrong with somebody terminally ill making the decision to end their own suffering, and I think having a doctor assist so that they die with minimal pain would make things a little easier for those left behind.

 

[charbie]

If someone wants to kill themselves, they will do it. Who am i to say it's not okay to do so, even if they are depressed or suicidal.

Some are not pphysically capable of this, if their body wont allow them to. However, the body sometimes just "knows" and will shut down and you no longer can eat, digest, drink, etc..

 

[Jessie702]

I wouldn't let my pets lay there and suffer in agony, and I'm sure they're not wondering what happens when they die and wondering why this happened to them and wondering if they deserve it, the way a human would, so why would I want my family to die like that? I watched my Uncle and my Grampa die, Uncle from cancer and my Grampa from his kidneys failing. Grampa went faster than my Uncle. Grampa slept most of the time, and they told me he wasn't in pain..and I don't know if I believe that. If I were a Dr. or a nurse, I would tell family he wasn't in pain even if I knew he was. My Uncle took a long time and it was one of the most heart/gut wrenching things I've ever seen in my life. On his morphine thing, there was some sort of default that he couldn't get more than a specific amount, at specific intervals. I looked. And I know my Aunt looked and both my cousins looked. Nobody wants their family members to die, but I personally would much rather have gathered in my Uncles room and held hands or done something while it was assisted than watching him contort and flail about and practically fall off the bed and lunge up and try to grab people and get to the point that restraints were considered, and the noises that a person makes in that situation..

My other grampa died when I was 14. Heart attack, boom, gone. I spent years agonizing over it b/c I never got to say goodbye, and it still, 22 years later, makes me cry to think of him, but I am very thankful that it was fast and over. He didn't have to endure the things my Uncle went thru..the indignities.

I can't stand to see anyone in pain. I've offered to take people's pets to the vet for them and sit w/the animal while it's put down when the owners can't bring themselves to do it. I know sometimes people don't want to be in there when it happens but I feel it's too clinical otherwise and would want the animal to feel a loving hand petting them as they went. The animal wouldn't know the difference, but I would. My Aunt/Uncle had to put their cat down a couple years ago, and Uncle was going to do it while Aunt was at work b/c she couldn't handle it. Mom thought Uncle was just going to drop the cat off and leave so she rushed 10 miles into town to the Vet so kitty would have a familiar face, and there sat Uncle..he wanted to leave but couldn't.

Sorry..went a bit long there but couldn't help it. Pets, humans, it doesn't matter to me, I don't want them to suffer.

awwwww..pack....your post about the kitty made me sad. As an animal lover i would put my baby down to end the sufferring, but i cant agree with it for my family or myself, is it wrong of me to feel that way. Maybe....

 

[jstarfireb]

Jessie, it's a moral grey area, which is why there's so much debate about it. There are no absolute rights or wrongs here.

 

[Autumnovember]

Please dont jump on me, but no, i dont agree with assisted-suicide.Im sorry, but we cant control everything ourselves, and think we need to stop trying. Yes, i think people should go with some dignity, but it is not choice to decide when its time to leave. My father, was in a lot of pain in the end, until his kidneys shut down, and the pain was gone, but it took awhile for him to pass. While it killed me to see him like that, it was the natural order of things. When people start deciding when they want to end their lives due to illness, it interupts the natural order of life. I can say this, due to my experince in the funeral home and my own life. My Godfather was in a lot of pain, and in the end, in a hospice, which ended the pain due to medicine, but he went away when it was his time. That is why there are hospices around, to help ease the pain of the passing, but letting it happen naturally, and with some dignity.

Kevorkian's argument to that would be that doctors play God all the time. He believes when medication is prescribed to an individual, that is interfering with the natural process of the body and THAT is playing God.

Here is a quote from him:

On April 15 and 16, 2010, Kevorkian appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360,[31] Anderson asked, "You are saying doctors play God all the time?" Kevorkian said: "Of course. Anytime you interfere with a natural process, you are playing God."

 

[dragonfly411]

Please dont jump on me, but no, i dont agree with assisted-suicide.Im sorry, but we cant control everything ourselves, and think we need to stop trying. Yes, i think people should go with some dignity, but it is not choice to decide when its time to leave. My father, was in a lot of pain in the end, until his kidneys shut down, and the pain was gone, but it took awhile for him to pass. While it killed me to see him like that, it was the natural order of things. When people start deciding when they want to end their lives due to illness, it interupts the natural order of life. I can say this, due to my experince in the funeral home and my own life. My Godfather was in a lot of pain, and in the end, in a hospice, which ended the pain due to medicine, but he went away when it was his time. That is why there are hospices around, to help ease the pain of the passing, but letting it happen naturally, and with some dignity.

Kevorkian's argument to that would be that doctors play God all the time. He believes when medication is prescribed to an individual, that is interfering with the natural process of the body and THAT is playing God.

Here is a quote from him:

On April 15 and 16, 2010, Kevorkian appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360,[31] Anderson asked, "You are saying doctors play God all the time?" Kevorkian said: "Of course. Anytime you interfere with a natural process, you are playing God."

To an extent isn't he right?

 

[Prana]

My thoughts, are that any time you take a medication, have a surgery or go to a Doctor to have something fixed, you are altering nature and in essence, playing 'God'.

I think our society fears death, because it is an unknown entity.

My husband and I have agreed, if either of us are diagnosed with a debilitating illness, and someday wish to die, we will allow it to happen.

I do not want to be laid up in a bed for years, with ulcers, wasting away and watching life happening around me, not being able to participate. I don't want to rely on someone to feed me, decide what I can eat, when and how I can eat it, not being able to wash my hair, turn the page of a book, hold my husbands hand, pet my dog, curl my eyelashes or change the channel on the TV that will be my only source of distraction.

Quality of life is everything to me, and I'd rather die peacefully with dignity and on my terms.

 

[radiantquest]

Please dont jump on me, but no, i dont agree with assisted-suicide.Im sorry, but we cant control everything ourselves, and think we need to stop trying. Yes, i think people should go with some dignity, but it is not choice to decide when its time to leave. My father, was in a lot of pain in the end, until his kidneys shut down, and the pain was gone, but it took awhile for him to pass. While it killed me to see him like that, it was the natural order of things. When people start deciding when they want to end their lives due to illness, it interupts the natural order of life. I can say this, due to my experince in the funeral home and my own life. My Godfather was in a lot of pain, and in the end, in a hospice, which ended the pain due to medicine, but he went away when it was his time. That is why there are hospices around, to help ease the pain of the passing, but letting it happen naturally, and with some dignity.

Kevorkian's argument to that would be that doctors play God all the time. He believes when medication is prescribed to an individual, that is interfering with the natural process of the body and THAT is playing God.

Here is a quote from him:

On April 15 and 16, 2010, Kevorkian appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360,[31] Anderson asked, "You are saying doctors play God all the time?" Kevorkian said: "Of course. Anytime you interfere with a natural process, you are playing God."

To an extent isn't he right?

These were my thougts too. I also watched the HBO movie and it made me angry. I think that if you are stuck with pain for the rest of your life, are sick, etc than you should be allowed to die the way you want.

As a side note, I have been wondering lately how much we are harming our own species with medicine. If it was all about the natural process of life then we would have to go back to survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, babies born with defects and people that are sick would die much more frequently.

 

[Prana]

Radiant-Just a little ramble in response to your post...
I think that it's such a blessing and a curse at the same time. I think that advances in medicine are a fantastic thing, we can keep babies alive, give people babies, cure diseases, save lives etc. I think that in trying to outdo death, we've come to view death as a very negative thing. In some cases, death is negative- like in the instance of a trauma. However, death can also be a blessing.

Society has such a negative stigma regarding death, and I think that it is fear of the unknown. I'd like to see a shift in care towards death being an OK option when necessary.

 

[Autumnovember]

Please dont jump on me, but no, i dont agree with assisted-suicide.Im sorry, but we cant control everything ourselves, and think we need to stop trying. Yes, i think people should go with some dignity, but it is not choice to decide when its time to leave. My father, was in a lot of pain in the end, until his kidneys shut down, and the pain was gone, but it took awhile for him to pass. While it killed me to see him like that, it was the natural order of things. When people start deciding when they want to end their lives due to illness, it interupts the natural order of life. I can say this, due to my experince in the funeral home and my own life. My Godfather was in a lot of pain, and in the end, in a hospice, which ended the pain due to medicine, but he went away when it was his time. That is why there are hospices around, to help ease the pain of the passing, but letting it happen naturally, and with some dignity.

Kevorkian's argument to that would be that doctors play God all the time. He believes when medication is prescribed to an individual, that is interfering with the natural process of the body and THAT is playing God.

Here is a quote from him:

On April 15 and 16, 2010, Kevorkian appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360,[31] Anderson asked, "You are saying doctors play God all the time?" Kevorkian said: "Of course. Anytime you interfere with a natural process, you are playing God."

To an extent isn't he right?

Yep, I definitely have to agree with him.

 

[Autumnovember]

Please dont jump on me, but no, i dont agree with assisted-suicide.Im sorry, but we cant control everything ourselves, and think we need to stop trying. Yes, i think people should go with some dignity, but it is not choice to decide when its time to leave. My father, was in a lot of pain in the end, until his kidneys shut down, and the pain was gone, but it took awhile for him to pass. While it killed me to see him like that, it was the natural order of things. When people start deciding when they want to end their lives due to illness, it interupts the natural order of life. I can say this, due to my experince in the funeral home and my own life. My Godfather was in a lot of pain, and in the end, in a hospice, which ended the pain due to medicine, but he went away when it was his time. That is why there are hospices around, to help ease the pain of the passing, but letting it happen naturally, and with some dignity.

Kevorkian's argument to that would be that doctors play God all the time. He believes when medication is prescribed to an individual, that is interfering with the natural process of the body and THAT is playing God.

Here is a quote from him:

On April 15 and 16, 2010, Kevorkian appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360,[31] Anderson asked, "You are saying doctors play God all the time?" Kevorkian said: "Of course. Anytime you interfere with a natural process, you are playing God."

To an extent isn't he right?

These were my thougts too. I also watched the HBO movie and it made me angry. I think that if you are stuck with pain for the rest of your life, are sick, etc than you should be allowed to die the way you want.

As a side note, I have been wondering lately how much we are harming our own species with medicine. If it was all about the natural process of life then we would have to go back to survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, babies born with defects and people that are sick would die much more frequently.

When I was watching the movie, I couldn't help but feel really bad for him I'm glad he is out of prison now but its weird to me that he can't go live in a state that allows assisted suicide to practice there?