The death of "Dr. Death"

On June 3, 2011, Jack Kevorkian died at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. He was 83 years old and had been hospitalized with pneumonia and kidney problems.

Kevorkian is best known for his assisted suicide advocacy and claimed to have assisted in the deaths of at least 130 people. During the 90's, various prosecutors attempted to convict him for assisting in suicides but were unsuccessful. The Board of Health suspended the retired pathologist's medical license in 1991 but Kevorkian wasn't stopped until he gave the CBS television show "60 Minutes" a video of himself euthanizing Thomas Youk by injecting him with deadly drugs in 1998. This led to a second-degree murder conviction and a sentence of 10-25 years in jail. He served more than 8 years in jail and was paroled in 2007 after promising not to assist in more suicides. In response to Kevorkian's actions, the state of Michigan banned assisted suicide in 1998.

In the 1990's, many pages of the Right to Life of Michigan News were dedicated to exposing Kevorkian's assault on human life. His death provides another opportunity to evaluate why it is important to choose life. We have failed as a civilized society if our solution to suffering is to kill those who suffer.

From its inception Right to Life of Michigan has been opposed to the social acceptance of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Accepting these forms of intentional killing reflects a complete disrespect for the dignity of each person and for each person's right to life. Assisted suicide and euthanasia embody a literally fatalistic response to illness and disability -- offering death as a solution to the challenges of life.

For more information about assisted suicide and euthanasia, please visit Right to Life of Michigan's web site at www.rtl.org.

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