Saturday, June 4, 2011

Dr. Jack Kevorkian

I guess this is technically off topic, but I have something to say, so here I am.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian passed away yesterday. In the hospital and not by his own hand. It's kind of anticlimactic, considering the way he put himself on display with his suicide machine.

Dr. Kevorkian could have been an advocate for assisted suicide without acting the fool. If he had, maybe we would be farther along the road to legalizing euthanasia for human beings. Instead, "Dr. Kevorkian" is a punchline and we have people who are terminally ill, suffering, and are forced to watch themselves waste away instead of having a quick and dignified end. What a shame.

And that's all I have to say about that.

1 comment:

Hold my hand: a social worker's blog said...

I think you are right. Dr. Kevorkian could have been less goofy, and many more patients today wouldn't be suffering in their terminal condition, dragging into misery and pain for years, with no hope of resting in peace.

There was a paraplegic resident, a retired college professor, whose wife would take him to their house every other weekend. He was a miserable man, very bitter. One day, it was on the news that he had "accidentally" fell into the pool and drowned. I honestly think it was suicide, as the investigation showed that the wife had nothing to do with the accident.

Doris